Robert W. Burpee

The former Director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, died on July 31, 2007 after a long illness. He graduated from Reading Memorial H.S. in 1959 and from Harvard Univ. in 1963. He obtained his Ph.D. in Meteorology from MIT in 1971. He spent most of his career as a hurricane research scientist. He developed the program to fly aircraft through hurricanes to obtain data and improve the accuracy of hurricane forecasting. He flew more than 265 flights that penetrated the eyewalls of hurricanes. He later served as the Director of the National Hurricane Center from July 1995 until August 1997. A Memorial Service was held at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Coconut Grove, FL. on August 3, 2007. His remains will be buried at the Forest Glen Cemetery in Reading on Saturday, September 29, 2007, at 11:00 am. A graveside service will be held at that time. Mr. Burpee is survived by a sister, Nancy Cutter, of Norway, ME, a brother, Richard Burpee, of Sudbury, MA, and eight nieces and nephews. Donations in his memory may be made to the Robert Burpee (1971) Memorial Fund, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Room W92-280, Cambridge, MA 02139.