Anthony Regis Burns Jr.

Anthony Regis BURNS, Jr. Born October 19, 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tony Burns lived a life of both internal and external exploration, and he strove to experience the fullest possible degree of beauty and magic through his travels and in his relationships with other people. He died Sunday, December 12, in Seattle, of a neurological condition caused by his exposure to Agent Orange during his military service in Vietnam. The first child and son of Agnes Batrala and Anthony Regis Burns, Sr, Tony grew up in Avalon, near Pittsburgh, with his sisters Veronica Burns, Victoria Waterbury, Jean Burns, and Regina Burns-Fulkerson. After graduating from Bethany College, he trained as a Naval Aviator, specializing as a bombardier and navigator. He flew reconnaissance and combat missions with Attack Squadrons 65 and 34 aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, Enterprise, and John F. Kennedy, from 1967 to 1971. He received numerous medals for his military service, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Navy Commendation (with Valor) for "heroic achievement" and "superb airmanship, courage, and devotion to duty" during a particularly difficult night mission on February 1, 1969 in Vietnam. While successful by military standards, his service and the role of the military in contemporary life troubled him. Following his Honorable Discharge, he began a life-long process of dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the shame he felt for his role in the Vietnam War. He engaged in anti-war activities and grassroots politics for the rest of his life. Prior to shipping out with the U.S. Navy, he married Ruthie Sewell. His love for their sons, Anthony Regis Burns, III, and Ian Nicholas Burns, as well as his granddaughter, Raina, was deep, wide, and enduring. Although family-life was disrupted by divorce in 1972, Tony continued his graduate and doctoral studies at the University of Oregon. He taught at the University of Oregon and at Southwestern Oregon Community College, and started his career in clinical psychology as Director at the White Bird Clinic, in Eugene. His clinical specialties included working with people suffering from PTSD and substance abuse, and those needing family counseling. He directed or provided counseling at clinics throughout the Northwest, including Coos Bay, Klamath Falls, Spokane, Port Angeles, Everett, Bellevue, and Pierce County. He also had a private practice in the Puget Sound area, including therapeutic groups for men in Seattle and Edmonds. Aside from his military, family, and professional responsibilities, he traveled throughout the world, including, Italy, China, and many countries in Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. He enjoyed long rides on his Harley, as well as sailing, kayaking, hiking, and bicycling throughout the West and Northwest. He also scuba dived many of the world's significant dive spots. He enjoyed a fearless approach to cooking (including on a Alaskan fishing boat), his pets, poetry and essay writing, guitar and piano playing, making and enjoying art, downhill skiing, and teaching sailing. He worked with the Social Justice Committee of the Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and he was active in initial efforts to found the Kitsap Food Cooperative. Tony also was one of several founders of the Silver Lake Winery. He was engaged to marry Helen Lucinda Welborn, of Seattle, who was with him when he died. Inquiries may be sent to her at hlwelborn@gmail.com. A memorial gathering will be held Saturday, February 19 at 12:30 at Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, in Bremerton.