Martha Fontaine Burns

Martha Ann, the oldest of two daughters born to Ward Needham and Mamie Jenny (née Huff) Fontaine, graduated in 1950 from London High School in New London, Texas, where she was an honor student, Rotary Club Good Citizen, yearbook staff member, and bass drum player in the school band. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1954. While there, she met a handsome waiter at Scottish Rite Dormitory who would become her lifelong love, Ned Hamilton Burns.

Martha and Ned were married on June 11, 1955, while he was doing his military service. After what they called “our 19-month honeymoon” in the Pacific Northwest, they returned to Austin, where Ned completed a master’s degree in engineering. Martha and Ned started a family with the birth of Kathryn in 1959 and a second daughter, Stephanie, in 1961. They spent two years in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Ned completed his Ph.D., then returned permanently to Austin in 1962 when Ned joined the faculty of UT’s Engineering Department. Their third child, Michael, was born in 1967.

Martha devoted herself to her young family and her community. She was a dedicated church member throughout her life, serving both University Baptist Church and the Church at Highland Park as a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, and in a variety of other ways. In the ’80s, she worked at UT-Austin for Vice President Shirley Bird Perry, helping to plan the university’s 1983 Centennial Celebration, manage human resources, and support the Retired Faculty Association.

She was generously engaged in other organizations all the while. Martha and Ned served as PTA co-presidents, supported Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, co-chaired the Johnston Band Parents Association, and attended years of piano recitals, dance performances, and band concerts. Martha was a long-time member of the University Ladies Club. She especially enjoyed volunteering with Friendship, a program for international women new to Austin and the United States, teaching English as a second language and otherwise welcoming women into the Austin community. Passionate about ending hunger, Martha was active in the group Seeds and participated in many CROP hunger walks.

Martha and Ned loved to travel. They rarely missed a class reunion. Martha stayed active into her 80s in the New London Ex-Students Association in New London, Texas, where she would happily reunite with friends going back to her Salem Elementary School days. She and Ned enjoyed numerous other trips over the years: to Peru, Brazil, Europe, China, Thailand, Japan, Hawaii, and across North America.

Martha had a special gift for friendship. She cherished her many friends, loyally supporting them through life’s highs and lows, and she was cherished, in return, by those who loved and cared for her. She kept her spark and her smile until the end.

Martha was predeceased by her beloved husband, Ned, in November 2016 after 61 years of marriage. Her sister, Jane Elliott, passed away in June 2016. She is survived by her daughter Kathryn Burns, of Carrboro, NC; her daughter Stephanie Burns Wechsler (Daniel Wechsler), of Atlanta, GA; her son Michael Burns (Katherine Murphy Burns), of Austin, TX; three granddaughters, Caroline and Julie Wechsler and Violet Burns; her cousin Jerry Fontaine, of Palestine, TX; and many other loving family members and friends.

A memorial service will be held at the Church at Highland Park, 5206 Balcones Dr. on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 11:00 am. The family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Halcyon Home Care, the staff at The Arbour at Westminster, and Hospice Austin for their care of Martha. Sharon Herring, Kara Olaniran, Katharine Wheeless, Rhonda Fitzpatrick, and others made Martha’s final years comfortable and often joyful ones. Memorial contributions in Martha’s honor may be made to the Central Texas Food Bank (https://www.centraltexasfoodbank.org/). Obituary and guest book online at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/martha-burns-11748839.