Francis Scottie Burns, Sr.

Francis “Scottie” Burns Sr. (87) Born June 8, 1922 (went home Jan. 23, 2010) He leaves his wife Stella, of 57 years, and five children: Lawrence Burns of Killeen, Texas; Mark Burns of Richmond, RI; Sharlene Burns-Allen of Charlestown, RI; Fred Burns of Charlestown, RI; and Francis Burns Jr. of Ledyard, Ct. They also have 13 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. Dad was a man of many facets. As a young teenager, he ran away from home and rode the rails for a couple of years, gaining many life experiences. My mom wrote and published a book, “The Lonesome Whistle’s Call” written from his recollections of riding the rails with hobos. This wasn’t the first time he had ridden the rails, as during the Depression, his family had travelled about for a time picking up temporary work, like picking strawberries and crops to make a few dollars. He joined the Army at the age of 17, and he became a Sergeant in the Military Police. He was stationed in Hawaii and was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed in 1941. He worked at Quonset as an Aircraft Mechanic, and then at URI as a Pinsetter Mechanic. He left URI and with his savings bought a printing press and started Kingston Press. In 1968, he and mom started an advertising paper called “South County Spectator”. The paper’s logo was a rooster standing for “something to crow about.” The paper was a huge success and after 14 years, they sold the paper and retired. Dad owned and restored quite a few antique automobiles over the years. I don’t remember what all of them were but do remember my favorite, the Model T Pie Wagon, my brothers and I loved riding to church on nice days in it. He would give our friends rides also and take us all for ice cream. He attended many parades over the years in his restored beauties. He established the Kingston Auto Fair, this fair was an antique auto fair and was run for charity and made several thousand dollars for the mentally handicapped and The Impossible Dream. He was driving a bus for Ladd School, part-time, at the time, and loved the kids. He was a hard worker and was always thinking of new ideas. All of his businesses were a success, he would get bored though with one and start something else. He certainly was not afraid to try out new ideas. His last entrepreneurship was a stump grinding business. He was retired, so I believe he did this just for something to do and for the enjoyment of meeting new people. He would go to people’s homes to quote a stump job wearing a stethoscope, and examine the stump, as he had named himself the “doctor of stumpology”. I thought the way he advertised was quite “different”, writing “stump poems” and printing silly pictures in his ads, but he made the business a success and people definitely remembered him. He ground stumps for about 10 years, grinding his last stump at the age of 86. My dad lived a long, fulfilling life that was interesting and full of surprises. He was an entertainer ... The fun side of my dad is what stood out about him, he loved to clown around whether it was heading to town for a coffee wearing a ridiculous hat, or toting some off-the-wall creation to make people laugh. I remember one day he went down to Damon’s Hardware to purchase something wearing a toilet plunger on his head (embarrassing to me to hear that he did this, but I also heard it was enjoyed). He dared to do the unusual. He would dress up in old-fashioned clothing including knickers and visit the Senior Centers or Nursing Homes to talk about his travels as a hobo, always making the listeners smile. He enjoyed sharing his time, talents, and travels with others. He was a devoted husband, father, and active in his community and church. He accomplished a lot in his lifetime. He will be dearly missed. A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 10 AM in the Wood River Baptist Church, 246 Kingstown Road (Rt. 138), Richmond. Burial with military honors will follow in New Fernwood Cemetery, Kingston. Visiting hours are respectfully omitted. His family kindly request memorial donations to Light House Chapel, PO Box 777, Wyoming, RI 02898.