Thomas E. Burrows

Tom started his life on the high seas by racing overpowered outboards across Higgins Lake, Michigan. He parlayed this throttle-twisting into motocross racing and started a motorcycle shop in Boulder, Colorado after a stint at UC Boulder. He lived in Aspen, where he skied with legends like Spider Sabich and Jimmie Heuga, and used up dozens more of his 99 lives. He left Colorado and bought a sailboat that badly needed repair, which started a lifelong series of adventures on the Atlantic. He crewed on Whisper, a former OSTAR racer, doing double-handed trips from Newport to the Caribbean. During that time he washed ashore on Chatham, where he started a family and built homes, and a self-storage business in Brewster.

Tom (or Buppa, as his grandchildren called him) loved to work with his hands. He found as much joy in taking apart an engine as he did in building his cabin in Maine or installing a wind turbine at his home. His facility with tools and his willingness to tackle any project became legendary among his friends and family, usually expanding the scope of the project to gigantic proportions before it was considered done. An avid sportsman, Tom was a part of the flying (tail-draggers), surfing, and more recently, the sailing community on Cape Cod. He raced in the J/80 Nationals, as well as the Newport to Bermuda, and won some Figawis along the way. He loved rebuilding boats as much, or more than, sailing them, and was always working on his multi-generational homestead (that he dubbed “the Projects”) in Brewster.

Tom is survived by his sons, Thomas Andrew (Drew) Burrows of Brooklyn, NY, Eli and Seamus Woods, his wife Kate Nelson, his grandchildren Ella, Asher, and Zsoka Woods, (all of Brewster) and his sister Lynn Burrows Donaldson of Chicago, IL. Tom was preceded in death by his sister Sara Burrows Cornwell, and his parents Roswell Burrows and Elizabeth Emery Burrows. A celebration of his life will take place on November 1, from 1-4 PM at the family’s property. Donations can be made in his memory to Brewster Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 268 Brewster, MA 02631.

For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.