Dr. Jim Burdine

1956 - 2016

(News story) Dr. Jim Burdine, a surgeon with a passion for learning and Model Ts, died Thursday at Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit. He was 59.

He was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a form of cancer, three years ago, and he died following a series of complications, his daughter, Katherine, said.

Dr. Burdine's goal was to further his understanding of the world by reading everything and traveling everywhere he could. He had visited all 50 states, most with his family, and backpacked in Europe with his children.

"He was wildly smart, and he didn't quite know what to do with it," Katherine said.

Dr. Burdine moved to Maumee in 2009 to start the robotics program at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, where he practiced cardiothoracic surgery. He specialized in noninvasive heart and lung surgery, which his children knew well, because he often let them practice their surgery skills.

"We would go to the hospital and stitch up gloves and bananas and play around," Katherine said.

Dr. Burdine had a busy schedule, but he made time for his family. They often traveled to Wilmington, N.C., where his wife grew up, and he loved to experiment with kites on the shore there. Frederick, Dr. Burdine's son, used to poke fun at his father.

"Kids always ask why, but Dad even exhausted the whys," Katherine said, quoting her brother.

For Dr. Burdine, life grew ever more fascinating as he learned more about how it worked.

"He was a wonderful partner," said Dr. Fayyaz Hashmi, Dr. Burdine's partner at St. Vincent. "But we also talked about everything - books, philosophy, relatives, history."

Though Dr. Burdine only moved to Toledo recently, he loved the Mud Hens and the Walleye, and his relatives - who came together every three years for a family reunion - knew it.

"All our relatives across 15 states have Mud Hens or Walleye hats," Katherine said.

Her father also admired Toledo's famous glass artists, and he had a collection of small pieces from glass-blowing workshops he had attended.

Dr. Burdine was born Sept. 1, 1956, in Louisville, Ky., to James and Freda Burdine, a pastor and a nurse, respectively. When he was 4, his father accepted a job in Fairbanks, Alaska. His father packed him and his three siblings into a station wagon with a trailer attached and drove all the way to Alaska. When he was in high school, the Burdines crossed the country again and settled in Bismarck, N.D., where Dr. Burdine graduated from high school.

He attended the University of North Dakota and later earned a master's degree in mathematics from New York University, where he met his future wife, Lynn.

His career in medicine took them to Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, then a residency and fellowship at the University of Minnesota, and then a stint in Fargo, N.D., before he made his way to Toledo.

"All of his passions revolved around social aspects, to share knowledge," Katherine said. Dr. Burdine joined a Model T club in Toledo, and he restored three Model Ts, with which his kids always helped.

Dr. Burdine's fascination with the world around him was apparent to everyone who knew him.

"He was passionate about ideas," Katherine said, "and most of all, I'll miss his enthusiasm about sharing."

He is survived by wife, Lynn; daughters, Allison Tillman and Katherine Burdine; son, Frederick; sisters, Rebecca Hultgren and Lynda Eller; brother, John, and two granddaughters.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. July 9 at Grace Church in Perrysburg. Arrangements are by the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, Maumee. The family suggests tributes to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Oak Harbor.

This is a news story by Blade staff writer Gabby Deutch. Contact her at: gdeutch@theblade.com, 419-724-6050, or on Twitter @GSDeutch.