Bernerd Hubert Burbank

BERNERD HUBERT BURBANK
Windham and Houlton, ME - Bernerd Hubert Burbank, age 88, of Windham, ME, died peacefully with his family at home Thursday, September 20, 2007, after a brief illness. He was born July 12, 1919 in Colebrook, NH, the son of Anne "Annie" Burbank and Walter Frederick Noyes. Bernerd was raised by his mother and John Carl Burbank.
Bernerd left New Hampshire in 1935 to attend Colby College where he met his future wife, Hannah Putnam. After graduating from Colby at the age of nineteen in 1939, he attended Temple University Medical School from which he graduated in 1943.
From 1944 to 1946, Bernerd served during World War II in the European Theater. A battalion surgeon, he served with the 924th Field Artillery Battalion of the 99th Infantry Division. Bernerd was actively involved in three famous battles: Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, and Remagen Bridge. In 1946, Bernerd was promoted to the rank of Major in the United States Army Medical Corps.
Immediately following VE Day at the end of World War II, Bernerd telephoned Hannah Putnam on her birthday from Lugano, Switzerland and proposed. They were married in Houlton, ME on Bernerd's July 12th birthday, six days after he returned from Europe.
Bernerd and Hannah made South Portland, ME their home where he started his private practice in general medicine and obstetrics.
Bernerd and Hannah had three children while living in South Portland. In 1955, after nine years in South Portland, the family moved to Bronxville, NY. Their fourth child was born in 1959.
Bernerd began a thirty-one year career in New York City working as a corporate medical director and in occupational medicine. He was an instructor in Medicine at Cornell Medical School. He served on the staff at New York Hospital. Bernerd retired from corporate medicine in 1986 with "no regrets."
Music and singing were Bernerd's true passions. He often sang as bass soloist in churches and synagogues in NYC and Westchester County. He played "Emile de Becque" opposite Chris Calloway in summer stock, "Captain," in "Sound of Music." He loved playing the piano, violin, trumpet, and played tuba and baritone horn in community bands.
In a document he wrote in 1989, Bernerd summarized some of his interests as: "Language clubs: French, German and Italian. Skiing: Sugarloaf VT, MA, NY, NJ, CO, UT, Innsbruck, Austria, Garmisch, Germany, and with the Soviet Mountain Climbing Team in the Caucauses in a Citizens Exchange program. Swam in the Aegean Sea off Greece, and tried to swim in the Dead Sea (Nickerson Lake, near Houlton, ME is the best!)"
"Fun Trips: Antarctica with Seabees and scientists 1965 -- tuned the first piano ever tuned on the continent; also as then-chairman of the Colby Alumni Fund, sought out and got farthest-from-Waterville contribution from Capt. Max A. Holzrichter, USN, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1964 and 1965."
"Sleeping under the stars on a 10-day rafting trip down the Colorado River in the gorgeous Grand Canyon."
"Boy Scouts, Asst. Scoutmaster in charge of sleeping in the rain, swatting black flies and mosquitoes, and eating soggy pancakes. Fun, nonetheless."
"Golf daily, summers only, in Houlton, ME."
In November 2005, Bernerd and Hannah moved to Windham, ME.
He is survived by two sons and one daughter, Jane of New York, NY, Jonathan of Ridgefield, CT, and David of Ithaca, NY. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Hannah P. Burbank and daughter, Sarah of Windham, ME. He also has nine grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his three brothers, Raymond Day, Irving Noyes, and Frederick Noyes.
There will be a Military Service Saturday, September 29, 2007, at 3 p.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery in Houlton, ME followed by interment. A reception and "light dinner" will follow at 4:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the "Nickerson Lake Conservation Fund" or "The Cary Library of Houlton, ME" in the name of Bernerd H Burbank, c/o Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park Street, Houlton, ME 04730.