Stanley Burns

with his family by his side. He was 88 years old.

Stanley was born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on May 1st, 1931 to Stanley Burns Sr. and Mildred Carter Burns. In his early childhood Stanley lived in Detroit where his father had a business at the Eastern Market. He had fond memories of playing as a young boy on nearby Belle Isle.

Stanley moved to Ann Arbor in the late 1930s. He attended Jones Elementary School, Slauson Junior High School and was a 1950 graduate from Ann Arbor High School, where he was an accomplished athlete in both football and basketball, and served as class president. In his senior year of high school, Stanley was recognized as a member of the Ann Arbor All City football team.

Stanley went on to play football for the University of Michigan from 1950-1951 under coach Ben Oosterbaan and assistant coach Bill Orwig, who would later become his father-in-law. While at Michigan, Stanley was an active member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. A true gentleman and a lover of social graces, Stanley had many friends and never shied from meeting people or having a good time. He was well known for his great generosity, compassion for others and keen sense of humor.

Stanley graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 1954 and attended the University of Michigan Law School for a year before serving in the US Army from 1956 – 1962. While he was in the Army, he was stationed in Tulle, France from 1956 – 1957. Later in life he would regale his family and friends of his time in Tulle and throughout western Europe. His stories usually centered around his adventures and travels in a used English Hillman automobile that he somehow acquired while stationed there.

Upon his return from his duties in France, Stanley joined the family business George Meyer Company and then married Janice Ann Orwig. Together they raised three children – David William Burns, Lynn Kristin Burns and Laurie Elizabeth Burns – and made many lifelong friends and memories in the Burns Park area of Ann Arbor and beyond. Stanley eventually took over George Meyer Company and successfully ran it for decades. With the help of his incredibly devoted and beloved staff, it continues to be a trusted and thriving business today.

As much as Stanley loved his family and friends, he loved Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. A Michigan Man, he was an active and engaged man in business and social circles throughout Ann Arbor – he was a member of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, Ann Arbor Home Builders Association and Ann Arbor Remodelers Association. He was also a member of the University of Michigan Quarterback Club, President of the University of Michigan Alumni Victors Club and a founding and lifelong member of Ann Arbor Golf & Outing, where he could be found before and after practically every home football game. Hail to the Victors!

Stanley is survived by his life partner Sharon Sandifer, his children David William Burns, Lynn Burns Laustsen and her husband Palle Laustsen, Laurie Burns Denton and her husband Morris Denton and grandchildren Lila Denton and Spencer Denton, brother in law William Orwig and many extended family members and dear friends. Stanley never met a stranger and treated everyone as a friend. He lived each day counting his blessings with gratitude and was a wonderful husband, life partner, father, grandfather and overall prince of a man.

Stanley was preceded in death by his wife of 37 years - Janice Orwig Burns, his brother Robert Burns, sister Betty Brown, his parents and his step-father George Meyer and his wife Ruth Meyer and his father and mother in law Bill and Jane Orwig.

Stanley’s family would like to thank the kind and loving staff at the Memory Support Center at Brecon Village and Arbor Hospice. Donations in Stanley’s memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Evangelical Homes of Michigan Foundation and Arbor Hospice.

A celebration of Stanley’s full and beautiful life will be held on a date to be determined in 2020.