Dateline: Great Bend, Kansas
Name of Deceased: Clarence J. Burns Age: 93
Date of Death: October 27, 2015
Clarence J. Burns, 93, died Oct. 27, 2015, surrounded by his family at Almost Home, Inc., Great Bend. He was born Sept. 30, 1922, the third child of Frank and Nora (Heitman) Burns, on a farm south of Fowler, Kan. As the last member, the Burns family is reunited and restored.
He was a 1941 graduate of Fowler High School and attended Dodge City Community College, where he studied accounting and played football. Drafted in to the United States Army in November 1942, he served in the European Theater. On Nov. 2, 1944, he was captured by the Germans in Holland and was held prisoner of war until his release on June 2, 1945.
He returned to Kansas following the war and began adjusting to life. He moved to Great Bend in 1946, and began work for the Dominican Sisters’ St. Rose Hospital laundry and later Central Kansas Medical Center, retiring in 1996 as linen supervisor after fifty years of service. While working at St. Rose he met a St. Rose School of Nursing student, Elizabeth “Betty” Graham and they were married at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Great Bend, on Nov. 4, 1947. She died May 11, 2012. In 1954, the couple moved to a farm southwest of Great Bend, where both worked and farmed together. They then moved east of Hart’s Corner in 1974 where Clarence continued to work the farm and in later years, take care of his chickens. Clarence was known for his honesty, work ethic and his love of country.
Mr. Burns was a member of the Prince of Peace Parish at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Great Bend. He was a former member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #3111, American Legion Argonne Post 180, and Knights of Columbus Council #862, all of Great Bend. His hobbies included working, carpentry and farming.
Mr. Burns is survived by one son, Tom Burns and his wife Kay, Great Bend; two daughters, Linda White and her husband Steve and Barbara Davenport and her husband Harlan, both of Great Bend; seven grandchildren: Douglas McNett and his wife Jennifer, Larned; Jennifer (Davenport) Strecker and her husband Eric, Towanda; Kris White and his wife Becca, Tulsa, Okla.; Chad White and his wife Crystal, Brighton, Colo.; Erin (Burns) VanCamp and her husband Chad, Olathe; Alli (Burns) Conine and her husband Zach, Scott City; and Logan Burns and his wife Traci, Great Bend; and ten great-grandchildren: Ross, Reed, Ella and Emma McNett; Jackson and Kennedy Strecker, Avery, Aaden and Ava VanCamp, and Harper Conine. He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, Bertha Batt and Esther Hayes, and one brother Lawrence Burns.
A Rosary and family greeting will be at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, at Bryant Funeral Home. Vigil service will be at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 at Bryant Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Great Bend, with Father Ted Stoecklein celebrating. Burial will be in Great Bend Cemetery, with military rites by Fort Riley Honor Guard. Friends may call from noon to 9:00 p.m., Thursday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Barton County 4-H Holding Board Scholarship or Quilts of Valor/American Legion Post 180 Auxiliary, in care of the funeral home.
Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net
Arrangements by Bryant Funeral Home
1425 Patton Road Great Bend, Kansas 67530