Arthur Leroy Burns

Art Burns, born April 19, 1929, passed away on January 27, 2022. Dad passed peacefully in his sleep in Vineyard Park Assisted Living. His wife of 71 years was by his side, and most of the family had an opportunity to visit with him in the days before his passing. Dad is at peace now, no longer restricted by age or pain. I hope that the rivers of Heaven are well stocked with fish. I know that he and his brother will be together again fishing for them and if they are there, he’ll catch them.

Art was born in the family home in Everett Washington, the 5th of eight children. He graduated from Everett High School in 1946 ½, working very early mornings in Troy’s bakery so that he could still make it to school on time and graduate early, at the mid-term commencement. He started his long career in construction working for Newland Construction and eventually went to work for Howard S Wright. He stayed with Wright through its varying partnerships and consolidations throughout his 40+ years as a carpenter/millwright, retiring as the site superintendent in 1994. He was part of the crew that built Cascade High School (in spite of being a Seagull at heart) and spent the better part of his career at Scott Paper working on the various additions, paper machine replacements, overhauls and the wastewater treatment plant. He and his brother Bob were the heart of the Wright, Schuchart and Harbor presence at the mill for close to 30 years.

Growing up Art and his brothers fished, snow skied and made countless modifications and repairs to cars. His love for fishing carried through the rest of his life, chasing Steelhead in local rivers and later large trout in Sheridan Lake BC. He built most of the family home on Colby before enlisting in the Air Force and serving in Japan during the Korean War. He built enough of the house so that his wife would have a place to live if he didn’t make it home. Once he returned he added the additional bedrooms to the house and, shortly thereafter, three children to fill those bedrooms. We had many memorable family trips in the family trailer, notably to Barkerville BC and Yellowstone Park. He also found/made time to attend every school function, coach Little League baseball and create the Burns Mining Company, which was a company only by way of a stenciled plywood sign on the trailer. Weekends were spent at the family claim outside of Darrington, digging and blasting for gold. Yes, dad studied for and received a license to purchase and use dynamite, which we would haul up to the claim and increase the depth of the mine with every year. At about 6 inches a year the “mine” never got very deep but did produce some gold.

As the kids grew up and moved on, he took up art and showed his work at the annual Salty Sea Days festival, which was largely an art show back then. He continued his passion for woodworking, making several pieces of furniture for the home and a few treasured pieces for the rest of us. He added metal working to his hobby list and restored many old pieces of woodworking or metalworking equipment and built fully-functional scale models of internal combustion engines. Every piece of which was built by his hands in his shop.

He and mom also bought a small motorhome and spent time each year at Sheridan Lake chasing those big trout and just enjoying each other’s company. They also took a large trip around the country, the capstone of his adventurous travels. He stayed involved in his children’s lives and, as they appeared, his grandchildren’s lives. They formed lasting friendships at their daily coffee stop and with like-minded tinkerers and collectors.

Art was preceded in death by his mother, father, stepmother, three brothers and three sisters. He is survived by his loving and loved wife Joan, three children, five grandchildren, one great-grandson, and one sister along with numerous nieces, nephews and their children and many cherished friends. Dad and mom spent the last years of his life together at Vineyard Park Assisted Living in Mountlake Terrace. The family wishes to express our appreciation for the kind compassionate care they received at Vineyard Park.

There will be a memorial service for Art and Joan at 1:30 on May 13th at Evergreen Funeral Home Chapel, 4504 Broadway, Everett.