James P. Burnes Ph.D.

Burnes, James P. Ph.D.
CLIFTON PARK - James P. Burnes, Ph.D., a retired professor and former chair of the Department of Business Analytics and Actuarial Science at Siena College, died September 12, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 65.
Dr. Burnes, a lifelong resident of Clifton Park and graduate of Shenendehowa High School, taught at Siena for a dozen years, beginning as an assistant professor and retiring as department chair.
He had previously worked as a technical specialist with Newkirk Products and as a quality instructor with General Electric.
Dr. Burnes earned his doctorate in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He also held a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from RPI, as well as an MBA from Union College.
A former competitive runner who completed approximately 20 marathons, with a 2:50 PR, Dr. Burnes had many interests that captured his unbridled enthusiasm and passion, including: the New York Mets, Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Hector Vargas, horse racing, Secretariat, UConn women's basketball, Gino Auriemma, Diana Taurasi, RPI hockey, distance running, Joan Benoit, classic rock, the Ramones, junk food, Die Hard (which he would argue annually and incessantly is a Christmas movie) and conservative politics. He liked sharing a birthday with John Wayne.
Baseball and horse racing appealed to his analytical mind and he enjoyed statistical analysis of the former and engaging in complicated but small bets with the latter.
Dr. Burnes was a longtime volunteer with the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club (HMRCC) and considered the Freihofer's Run for Women the preeminent sporting event in the Capital Region. The HMRCC honored Jim in 1994 with its Distinguished Service Award.
After his diagnosis with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in the spring of 2024, Dr. Burnes endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy, dozens of infusions and transfusions and ultimately a stem cell transplant at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo.
He endured it all bravely and tenaciously, frequently with an eye on his statistical chances of survival. Jim knew going in that the odds were heavily against him but fought the uphill battle valiantly. In the end, the statistics won out over his immune system. His final race was run.
Dr. Burnes was predeceased by his parents, James and Bernice "Bunny" Burnes; and his beloved uncle and aunt, Raymond Fanning and Dorothy "Chickie" Fanning. He is survived by his dear sister, Ann (Steven) Nothwehr of Maryland; cherished godchild, Benji Nothwehr of Toronto; numerous cousins and many friends who knew him as enthusiastic, loyal, irascible, grateful, argumentative, appreciative, opinionated, talkative, stubborn, curmudgeonly, sentimental, loving, honest and good-hearted.
A Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:00 a.m., on Saturday, September 20, at St. Mary's Church (Crescent), 86 Church Hill Rd. Burial will follow in the Fanning Family plot, St. Mary's Cemetery, Baltic, Conn.
Everyone at Roswell Park treated Jim with unparalleled kindness, patience, compassion and competence, and the nearby Kevin Guest House generously accommodated his family.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim's name to either the hospital or guest house would be welcome.