Obituary of Richard Thomas Burse

Richard (Dick) Thomas Burse passed away unexpectedly at the age of 77 in Banning, California, on September 7, 2016, after a difficult couple of weeks in the ICU following emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. Dick was born on June 28, 1939, in Yuma, Arizona. His family moved to Bend, Oregon in the summer of 1955 and after one year moved to Salem, where he graduated from South Salem High School in 1957. Dick attended Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. In October 1960 he married Sally Kaye Stearns in the First Christian Church in Bend where they had first met five years before. Dick and Sally’s first home was in Salem, Oregon. At that time, Dick started a career in the J. C. Penney management program. After seven years in Salem, Penney’s moved Dick and Sally, along with their young family, to southern California. Dick left Penney’s in 1975 to start his own business manufacturing men and boys polo shirts. He later went into the import business handling clothing and fleece. This job involved a lot of travel to places such as China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Honduras, and Mexico. During these years, Dick and Sally raised their family in the Covina area, where they were active members of the Covina First Presbyterian Church. Dick retired in 2000, and following Sally’s retirement from teaching in 2004, they moved to Sun Lakes Country Club retirement community in Banning, where he took up golf and enjoyed being out on the beautiful courses with his golfing companions. He served for a number of terms as a District Delegate. Dick had a good time with friends, playing hand and foot canasta, bocce ball, going out to dinner, or just talking over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. He and Sally enjoyed the shows at Friendship Club, as well as the Sun Lakes Chorale and Sun Lakes Drama presentations. Dick was an avid user of the Sun Lakes library, exchanging spy novels and westerns on his daily walks. On TV, in addition to golf and tennis, he enjoyed HGTV, car shows & auctions, Smithsonian and especially the western movie channel. Dick and Sally were members of Beaumont Presbyterian Church, where he served on the Nominating and the Finance Committees. Dick planned road trips through the years, taking their family, and then Sally on journeys to visit National Parks and many other places in our beautiful country and in Canada. During their retirement years, Dick and Sally enjoyed many wonderful cruises with Oregon friends from their high school days, seeing much of the world. Dick is survived by his wife, Sally, two sons, David (Karen) Burse and Michael (Jackie) Burse, one daughter, Jane (Bob) Walker, seven grandchildren: Jacob, Steven, Shelby, Zachary, Christopher, Russell, and Mark, and his brother, James (Janet) Burse. Dick loved his family, and he was interested in and encouraged his children and grandchildren as they grew up to be all that they could be. Dick was a good friend to many, and he will be dearly missed by all, as he left us too soon. Dick had asked that there be no service, and his family is honoring his request. However, in the future, we may have a gathering to celebrate his life, and we hope that his friends (past and present) will be able to join us. Most importantly, his family hopes that the people whose lives Dick touched will enjoy the memories of the times they shared with him. The family greatly appreciates the outpouring of love and support they have been receiving.