Robert Kingsley Burns

Robert Kingsley Burns joined the Church Triumphant on March 30, 2026. He is survived by his wife of nearly 41 years, Janice Kimball Burns; his daughter and son-in-law, Rachel and Greg Jiral; his parents, Allan and Senie Burns; his brother, John (Suzy) Burns; his sister, Laurie Burns; and his sister-in-law, Joy Burns. Also surviving are his mother-in-law, Shirley Kimball, and his brother-in-law, Don Kimball (Jeannette). Too many to name are the myriad nieces, nephews, and cousins whom he loved and enjoyed dearly.

Rob was born in Flemington, New Jersey in 1963 and lived with his family in Whitehouse Station until a move to Parkesburg, Pennsylvania when he was 10. He graduated from Coatesville Area Senior High School in 1981 and began his college years studying Engineering at Lehigh University.

While at Lehigh, he underwent surgery and treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. This, along with his participation in the Lay Witness Missions of the United Methodist Church, proved to be profoundly formative for his faith. During his sophomore year he transferred to Eastern University to study Youth Ministry. It was there that he met Janice, and as their relationship grew, so did his sense of call to pastoral ministry and graduate theological study.

After getting married in 1985, Rob attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma on a Fellowship, where he led undergraduates in Biblical Studies. After a year of graduate study, he felt the pull away from the classroom. An opportunity arose at Leesburg United Methodist Church in Leesburg, Virginia, where he was called as Program Director in the summer of 1986, leading Youth Ministry, Sunday School programming, discipleship, and Associate Pastoral duties on Sunday mornings, including preaching. His years in Leesburg solidified his call to pastoral ministry, and he resumed seminary courses at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, before returning to seminary full time at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond.

The move to Richmond brought with it a denominational shift — from his Methodist upbringing to the Presbyterian Church. He served as a Youth Minister at St. Giles Presbyterian, where he was ordained. Richmond also proved to be a blessing in another way, as Rob and Janice welcomed their daughter Rachel, completing their family of three.

Rob's first solo pastoral call was at Dilworthtown Presbyterian in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1994. Three years later he accepted a call as Presbyterian Campus Minister at the University of Richmond, and also worked at Logos Christian Bookstore downtown. In 2002, Rob accepted a call to a small church outside St. Louis, Missouri, where a friend had suggested him as Designated Pastor to a congregation in transition. He then served a combined Methodist-Presbyterian congregation in a neighboring county — a church that hoped he would stay. But Rob's heart was pulling him back toward family on the East Coast, and so he began seeking a call closer to home.

This search led him to Crestwood Presbyterian, where he served as Associate Pastor for twenty years — the longest and, by many measures, the sweetest chapter of his ministry. At Crestwood's Richmond campus he found his stride: preaching regularly, walking with people through the hardest seasons of their lives, developing small group discipleship, and championing local and global mission. He was not the kind of pastor who stayed behind a desk. He was present — at bedsides, at kitchen tables, on mission trips — treating every person he encountered as someone of profound worth and value. For the congregation at Crestwood, Rob was not just a pastor. He was a shepherd in the truest sense.

Mission outreach was close to Rob's heart. Over the course of his career he led many mission trips with youth and adults, and he served on the Board of Alongside Ministries, with a deep desire to see the Kingdom of God grow both locally and around the world. From 2010 to 2013, Rob attended the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies and graduated with a Doctor of Worship Studies. He loved worship — and he loved crafting services that wove music, sermon, and liturgy into a cohesive whole that was biblically and theologically sound.

Rob loved Jesus and desired to serve him faithfully from the time of his youth. He loved his family deeply and was an exceptional husband, father, and father-in-law. He loved the church — the people of God from all walks of life who are on the journey to wholeness in Christ. He treated everyone the same: as individuals of worth and value. He was a true shepherd. Rob had a joy for life, finding delight in reading, gardening (a farmer at heart), hiking, swimming in the ocean, and spending time with good friends. And he did it all with a grateful heart, an infectious smile, a quick wit, and a twinkle in his eye.

Visitation will be held on Friday, April 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Crestwood Church, 1200 Charter Colony Parkway, Midlothian, Virginia. A celebration service of Rob’s life will take place on Saturday, April 18 at 11:00 a.m., also at Crestwood Church, with a light lunch to follow. All are welcome. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be live streamed on the Crestwood website, www.crestwoodrva.org.

Donations in Rob’s memory can be made to Crestwood Church, where they will be used for various missions near and dear to Rob’s heart.