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Robert Burr Obituary
PEORIA - Robert C. "Bob" Burr, 82, of Peoria died Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Bob was born June 21, 1930, in Paterson, N.J., to Howard E. and Helen (Matthews) Burr. He married JoAnn Taggart in Ames, Iowa, on July 1, 1953. They divorced in 1963. There were no children of the marriage. His life from 1964 to 2004 was deeply enriched by his significant other, Lucy Sommerfield, until her death in 2004.
He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Rutgers University in 1952, and his M.S. in chemistry from Iowa State University in 1955. He was an instructor in chemistry at Bradley University from 1955 to 1961 and a chemist at Peoria's USDA Lab from 1962 to 1988.
Bob's two abiding interests were barbershop style singing and the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.
He donated his body to medical science. There will be no visitation, funeral or memorial service.
Memorials may be made to Peoria's South Side Mission, the Salvation Army or Peoria Rescue Ministries.
Please visit Bob's story at www.davison-fulton.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Robert Burr
Christmas Eve 2011
Rena Enea
March 4, 2013
François MOTTIER
February 9, 2013
I meet Bob Burr once in the springtime1981 at the home of my friend writer Philip Jose Farmer, in Peoria. I was a young french writer, and I became the first french member of the Robert's sherlockian society " the Hansoms of John Clayton " ! I have always my member card and his welcoming letter ! It was a great pleasure to know him, he was a good fellow and an erudite, with a sparkled soul ! All my condoleances.
25th anniversary of Hansoms of John Clayton, 11/16/2002
February 8, 2013
Rena Enea
February 7, 2013
I love you so much, Uncle Bob! I'm going to miss you so much, my Uncle and my Friend!!! I will cherish every memory with you and of you. It's hard to believe that you really aren't here with us anymore. I will see you again in heaven, my dear Uncle.
Your T-Pops,
Rena
Kathy Keniston
January 17, 2013
I am very fortunate to have known the friendship of Bob Burr in my life. I met him by fortuitous accident on the Internet through various Sherlockian channels,and have spent time in his company in Peoria on several occasions. He was one of the gentlest and most caring persons I have ever known. I wish only that he may appear, somehow, sometime, in the Empty House, and my grief may be assuaged. I miss you beyond measure, Snooks.
Deb Fuller
January 16, 2013
I only knew Bob from the Sherlock Holmes e-mail lists but we shared the same birthday. So in a way, he always seemed like my zany, (much older) twin brother. Seeing my annual birthday greetings from the listers won't be the same without him to share the day with.
Regina Stinson
January 15, 2013
I only met Bob through the internet and email, but I considered him to be a good friend and a great Sherlockian. I will miss his clever quizzes and his pawky humor.
Travis Lewis
January 15, 2013
I had the pleasure of meeting and living next to Bob for the last few years. We had so many great conversations every time Bella & Tinsley said hello. He was a great man and a great neighbor. He will be missed dearly.
Janelle Stremlau
January 15, 2013
My heart just broke when I learned of Bob's passing. He has been our neighbor the last 2+ years - the very day I moved in he came over to introduce himself and welcome me to the neighborhood. He absolutely loved animals, my dogs included and was such a fantastic neighbor and great man. I will miss taking him cookies at Christmas and food at Thanksgiving, and most of all just seeing him outside all the time. Rest in Peace Bob.
Tom Dandrew
January 15, 2013
I met Bob through our mutual love of Sherlock Holmes. Bob was truly one of a kind and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
January 15, 2013
YOL
A dark cloud has passed over our Kennel of Hounds.
This is not my time for jokes or jollity.
Though I never met Bob Burr, I liked him a lot. That makes him a very special person for me --- and I, too, shall miss him much.
Our List-Master has very appropriately brought our attention to John Donne, who also authored these words –
“Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, For thou art not so, ….One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.�
Rest well, dear brother, Jody Baker [From The Hounds of the Internet]
Joseph Coppola
January 14, 2013
I only met Bob via email, our first encounter was on the Hounds of the Internet, The Sherlock Holmes group. I enjoyed his pawkish humor and I think the world is a sadder place without him. - Joe Coppola BSI, ASH, SHSL
January 14, 2013
Bob Burr was a very special person and wonderful example of a Sherlockian. In a milieu of idiosyncratic folks, he was an artiste. I am proud to have known him from afar, and to have played the Great Game with him.
David McCallister, Pleasant Places of Florida; Tampa, FL.
Jane Menkj
January 14, 2013
I so enjoyed Bob and his love of Sherlock Holmes, especially as a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. R.I.P.
January 13, 2013
My older sister, Marilou and I always thought of Bob as a special brother-in-law. It has been many years since my sister, Jo, died. Bob has kept in touch with us over the years - myself by email, and Marilou by phone. I remember him being a brilliant chemist, teaching at colleges and universities. Bob was such a very talented pianist/organist. On our last visit to Peoria, he played for us. I was amazed that he could play with such expertise that it was hard to believe he was self-taught. It was especially enjoyable since my family were and are all musicians. I also enoyed Bob's wonderful tenor voice. I know how he loved singing in competitions for his barbershop quartet and Lucy's Sweet Adelines.
His major pasttime, researching, and collecting Sherlock Holmes memorabelia kept him busy and entertained for years.
I also shared a love for cats with Bob. (It takes a special person to love and raise cats!
Bob will be greatly missed by his friends and family. His memory will continue on with those of us who admired him so. Nancy Winseman,Lincoln,NE
Erin Hobin
January 13, 2013
I was very sad to hear of Bob's passing. I have lived next door to Bob for the past 5 1/2 years and he was a great neighbor....helpful, kind, caring...everything you want a neighbor to be. Everytime I saw him outside he always said hello and asked how things were going. He will be greatly missed in the neighborhood. God bless his soul.
Brent Taggart
January 13, 2013
I only met Bob once or twice, but I recall him as a lively intellect and a talented musician. He stayed friendly with our family over the years, particularly with my father, Jim Taggart. After my mother passed away, one of my father's best times was when he visited Bob in Peoria in 2006. My father died only a few months later, and I have always been grateful for that trip he took and the time he enjoyed with Bob one last time.
Alexander Braun
January 11, 2013
We are all diminished by Bob's death. He was a scholar and, above everything else, a gentleman. Although I never met him face to face, over the years we kept up a lively exchange of correspondence over all sorts of aspects of Sherlock Holmes and his world. I already deeply miss him.
Alexander E. Braun (San Jose, California)
Mary Cluskey
January 11, 2013
Our family grew up knowing Bob as he worked with our dad at the Ag Lab in Peoria. We had lots of laughs over the years.
Kent Ross
January 11, 2013
I'd a;ways hoped to meet Bob in person knowing of his deep involvement with the world of Holmes. Sadly, that now won't happen in this lifetime. From those who knew him, they leave fond remembrances. Kent Ross, A Gathering of Southern Sherlockians
Tim OConnor
January 11, 2013
I first became acquainted with Bob in 1987. He was a legend in the Sherlockian community having run The Hansoms of John Clayton Sherlockian society in Peoria, and for publishing the Wheelwrightings quarterly journal and The Plugs and Dottles newsletter for decades. He was a first rate scholar, never afraid to share his opinion, and full of amusing puns, jokes, quizzes, and a master of literary and language minutiae. He was one of a kind, and a friend to many.
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