Erin S. Burbank

Erin S. (Barry)Burbank, age 50, of Wethersfield, died on Thursday, (November 1, 2012), All Saints/Souls Day, holding hands with her lifelong Soul Mate, husband, and best friend, Scott R. Burbank. She fought a brief but courageous battle with the deadliest of them all, pancreatic cancer. The cliché "lived life to the fullest" was not a cliché for Erin and me. It was a way of life. Our 33 year romance was an epic love story for the ages. Our very first date was my Senior Prom. I asked her to the prom the very first time I ever spoke to Erin. I proposed on Valentine's Day because that was the only thing that made sense to me. We had some of the greatest parties. We made sure to celebrate every possible occasion that marked our life. Not just birthdays or anniversaries. We celebrated anything that was important in our life. We were true hopeless romantics. We did not take anything for granted. We traveled as much as possible in our quest for adventure. Erin loved to experience new places and she was able to fulfill some of her childhood dreams: Swimming and picnicking under a waterfall in the forests of Hawaii during a private Jeep tour; a peaceful Gondola ride in Venice, Italy; sharing some freshly picked olives while strolling outside of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; snorkeling in the amazing waters of Los Cabos Mexico, Cancun Mexico, St. Thomas, The Bahamas, St. Martin, and Grand Cayman; watching some of the most spectacular sunsets you will ever see off the coasts of Key West Florida, Hilton Head Island, Cape Cod, and Newport R.I. One of our all time favorite places was Hilton Head Island, S.C., where we own a timeshare and shared some of our quieter, peaceful moments. We spent time in Cape Cod for 25 consecutive years. We spent time in Newport for 15 consecutive years. We made sure to see 2-3 concerts per year, including Lynyrd Skynyrd for 11 consecutive years. These concerts brought back such special memories for us. After completing our quest, Erin Burbank made one of the most dramatic life shifts imaginable when she went from full time employment and living absolutely carefree to quitting her job and being a full time Mom to our newly adopted children. Her longing for Motherhood was fulfilled but tragically too short. For these last 3 years she shifted her focus 100 % to providing a loving, caring and fun household to our children, Alex then 2 (now 5) years old and Madison then 7 (now 10) years old. She loved them deeply and they loved her and will forever miss their beautiful Mommy. Erin grew up in Newington, the daughter of Ray and Jill (Eleanor) Barry. Her environment was one of pure love. The type of childhood every child deserves. It was not rich with "stuff", it was filled with love, laughter and joy. Erin was truly blessed to have such wonderful parents and that early foundation shaped the rest of her life. It allowed her to always see the good in people, to form friendships easily, and to love others unconditionally. It was a true blessing. Erin Barry Burbank was beautiful both in appearance and in her heart. She was a unique and special person who had the ability to easily blend into any situation and become your friend. She had so many people who considered her their friend and they came from many different places that her life touched. I can't name them all but special mention must be given to Kathy (Malloy) and Mike Quinn, Nancy Connell, Bill Hunt, Tony Fusco, her cousin Brian Barry, Ray May, Jerry and Cheryl Edison, Ron Andreoli, Jim and Jennifer Bucior, Kim (Wider) Matthews, Linda Wildes and Jeannie (Giangreco) Karsberg. Family was everything to Erin. She had the greatest father/daughter relationship that I have ever personally seen up close. The death of her father, Raymond Barry, took a piece of her heart and truly had an impact on these last 9 years of her life. I don't believe she ever got over that tragic loss completely. Jill (Eleanor) Barry is one of the most wonderful people on the planet period. She is a blessing to anyone who knows her, her love and compassion are endless and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for the daughter she raised and for the unbelievable strength and support she provided to Erin over the 3+ months of her illness. Erin also had great love and provided as much support as possible to her brother, Raymond Barry, Jr. and will miss him dearly. When we started dating in 1979, Erin quickly and naturally blended right in with my family and now had a "second mom and dad", two more sisters, and two more brothers. She will be dearly missed and forever remembered by Antoinette "Toni" Burbank, Mark and Sue Burbank, Marlene and Rob Doyon, and her nieces, Aimee and Angela Burbank, and Tatiana Doyon. We had so many great memories of family time, holidays, vacations together and life will never be the same for our family without Erin in it. She had a wonderful relationship with her father in law – the late Bob (Robert G.) Burbank. My Dad always made her feel special and went out of his way to pay her compliments. When introducing her to his friends he would always say "This is my beautiful daughter in law Erin". She never forgot that and it meant a great deal to her since his passing 16 years ago. Although she had only three blood nieces, this tribute to Erin would not be complete without the mention of her "special nieces and nephews" – Kaylee Quinn, Hanalee May, Christine and Amanda Edison, Ray, Emily and Jim Bucior, Jr. and Alex and Max Maffucci. She touched their lives and they touched her heart. Erin also leaves several aunts, uncles and cousins. Erin was a very spiritual person but was confused about religion and what particular religion was the right one for her. In her teens her family became Jehovah Witnesses, but Erin was not sure that was the right path for her. So she continued her Catholic faith and made her Confirmation as a Catholic. This was a difficult time for her. It was during that time that two special people made her feel welcome in their lives. I would like to thank Noreen and Bill Addis and the entire Addis family and relatives for their love and support of Erin. You were there for her and she never forgot what you did and how you took her in and put up a stocking at Christmas, and celebrated Easter Dinners with her. You were a blessing and she loved you all. Some of the interests Erin had in her life included: Newington Fife & Drum – she spent over 15 years in this organization as a youth and twice was named State Champion Majorette; Make a Wish volunteer and Gary Craig Christmas volunteer. She was an active advocate for the homeless in Hartford and we visited South Park Shelter every Christmas for the past 16 years to bring clothing, food, monetary donations, cards and cookies to the homeless, and toys for the homeless children. Her 30 years of employment included stints at Manpower Temporary Services, Foster Medical Supply, Daqui Belding, The Nutshell Cafe, The Maple Cafe, Yellow Book, Clipper Magazine and The Rare Reminder. One of Erin's only regrets in life was that she did not pursue her college degree. She felt some discrimination during parts of her career due to this fact yet she excelled at every job she ever had and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had great abilities in the business and sales world. I would like to thank all the members of the Erin Support Website. I could not have survived these last 3+ months without your assistance. Special thanks to Cheryl Edison for her diligent coordination of the site. God Bless all of you. Special medical thanks go to Dr. Todd Alekshun, Dr. Defusco, Marlene Silvis and Charmain Ali, along with the entire staff of the Conklin Building second floor of Hartford Hospital, but especially Jamie, Mary Anne, Kelly, and Liza for their care, compassion, and support to both Erin and me during this horrendous time in our life. The family will receive relatives and friends on Friday (November 9) from 4-8 p.m. at the D'Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Blvd., Wethersfield. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Seton Church, 280 Brook St., Rocky Hill. Everyone is asked to please go directly to the church. Burial will follow in Village Cemetery, Wethersfield. For online expressions of sympathy, please visit www.desopo.com. Immediately after the burial you are all invited to a Grand Celebration of Erin's Life at The Aqua Turf Club, 556 Mulberry Street, Plantsville. As you can see, I have used the term Grand Celebration. I want to honor Erin by taking a respite from grieving on Saturday. I will grieve starting Sunday and for the rest of my life but not on Saturday from 12:30 – 5 p.m. at The Aqua Turf. We will be spinning all the classic Scott and Erin tunes. I hope people will be dancing, which Erin loved to do. At 2 p.m. we will take a musical break and welcome anyone to get up and speak. Come prepared with your best Erin story to share. Whatever you want to say will be welcome, be it funny, serious or sentimental. I will be videotaping this event to create a lifelong memory for me, Madison and Alex. We will laugh and cry and remember the beautiful person she was and the wonderful life God gave us for the last 33 years. That is my vision and the vision I believe best commemorates my beloved Erin. Erin and I gave very generously during our lives so instead of the cliché "In lieu of flowers …." I am asking that you please do send flowers to the funeral home and make it unbelievably colorful. All flowers will be transported to The Aqua Turf to beautify the Grand Celebration Room. Rest in peace my Love until we meet again. Scott. Scott and Erin Together 4Ever.