Eugene Joseph Burns

Eugene Joseph Burns died September 5th 2024. He was 93. 

Funeral service will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 19099 E Floyd Ave, Aurora, CO 80013 on September 12, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.

He is survived by his wife Gertrude Ann “Trudy” Lorenz Burns, two daughters, Margot (Henrik) and her sons, Jordan and Duncan; and Barbara (Steve) Krause and their son Alex and their daughter Madeleine. Gene married Trudy in Milwaukee in 1960.

He spent the first few years of his life on a farm owned by his parents, Thomas John and Estella Logan Burns which was located about 2 miles west of Seymour, WI. After graduating from Seymour High School in 1948, he attended a trade school in Minneapolis, MN to learn to be a railroad telegrapher. He then worked for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad at stations between Chicago to Clinton, IA. He only worked there for a few years when he was drafted into the Marine Corps during the Korean war. He was discharged in 1953 and immediately entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. His college was mostly paid for by the Korean GI Bill.

Gene worked for the Wisconsin Electric Power Co for a few years, then spent the remaining 30 years of his working career with Milwaukee County as power plant superintendent and director of facilities management. He retired in 1990. For the next 12 years he volunteered as a tutor at an English-as-a-second language school in Milwaukee. 

In 2003, Gene and Trudy moved to Aurora, CO to avoid the cold Milwaukee winters and to be closer to Margot and her family. Gene served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Heather Gardens Home Owners Association for eight years and as a member of committees for additional years.

A few years later, Barb, Steve and their kids moved to Denver and the whole family has been close ever since. Gene was surrounded by family and love when he passed. 

In 2018 Gene and Trudy moved to St. Andrews Village in Aurora where they still live.

In Lieu of flowers, Memorials can be made to Catholic Charities or the Denver Rescue Mission.