Dr. John J. Burroughs

1926 - 2020

(News story) MONROE - Dr. John J. Burroughs, a physician who cared for generations of local families and the Monroe High football team for more than 20 seasons, died Oct 11 in his Monroe home. He was 94.

The cause of death was natural, but he had no particular ailment, his son, Michael Burroughs, said.

"He just ran out of gas. He was fine until the end," his son said.

Dr. Burroughs retired from his medical practice in November, 2019.

"He still had people who counted on him. He had a loyal following," his son said. "He enjoyed every minute of what he was doing.

"He had good empathy," his son said. "He liked them, and they liked him. I made the comment once to my dad, 'I'm impressed with your patients.' They seemed like nice people. He could make their life better."

He delivered babies for years as well.

He served as Monroe High School football team physician during the more than 20-year tenure of Rich Jeric as head coach, starting in 1969. Dr. Burroughs went to all games, home and away, and his office staff knew that a team member who needed attention during the week got an instant appointment.

"He liked the coach, and he liked the kids, and he loved sports," said his son, a mid-1970s Monroe High graduate. "That was his alma mater."

Dr. Burroughs was an inductee of the Monroe High Athletic Hall of Fame and of the Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Patricia Burroughs, also were inductees of the St. Mary Catholic Central Athletic Hall of Fame.

He'd been chief of staff at Memorial Hospital and medical director of the Lutheran Home. He was a former president of the county medical society.

Dr. Burroughs was a charter member of the Sertoma Club in Monroe and served on the Monroe YMCA board.

He was born Sept. 4, 1926, in Monroe to Margaret and Robert Burroughs. After graduating in 1944 from Monroe High School, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served stateside.

He pursued premedicine studies at University of Detroit and received his medical degree in 1954 from Marquette University in Milwaukee. Afterward, he had an internship and a two-year residency at what is now Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center. He then joined the family practice of Dr. Leonard Blakey, who was his father-in-law.

For years, he went deer hunting in northeastern Lower Michigan. He played racquetball and tennis until his mid-60s. He and his wife vacationed in Europe several times, and he liked to take his family to dinner frequently at Angelo's Northwood Villa in Erie and Angelo's Chop House in Monroe.

"He was just a loveable guy. I think about him now, it brings a smile to my face," his son said.

He and the former Patricia Blakey married Sept. 9, 1950. She died Dec. 30, 2015.

Surviving are his son, Michael Burroughs; daughters Andrea Stager, Susan Coseo, and Kathryn Burroughs; brother, David Burroughs; sister, Sister Lois Burroughs; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Services will be private. Arrangements are by Rupp Funeral Home, Monroe.

The family suggests tributes to St. John the Baptist Church; the John and Patricia Burroughs Endowment Fund at St. Mary Catholic Central High School, or the Meadow Montessori School, all of Monroe.

This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.