Joseph F. Burns, 78, of Green
Street, Ipswich, husband of the late Cynthia A. (Dowdell) Burns,
died May 28, 2009 in the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers
following his extended illness.
Born in Ipswich March 3, 1931, he
was the son of the late Joseph V. and Beatrice (Ward) Burns. He was
raised in Ipswich and attended local public schools. He enlisted in
the US Army and served with the Military Police in Germany and Japan
during the Korean Conflict. Married in 1955 in St James Church in
Salem, the Burns lived for many years on Wayne Avenue in Ipswich
where they raised their family. He was employed as an Ipswich
firefighter, a ladder truck chauffer, retiring in 1986 following
thirty-two years of service to the town. For many years he was also
employed part time as a heavy equipment operator for ABC Mulholland
of Ipswich. He was a lifelong parishioner of St Joseph’s Church and
Our Lady of Hope Parish in Ipswich, and a member of the American
Legion Post 80, the Ipswich VFW Post 1093, and a Brother Knight with
the Knights of Columbus Carrolton Council 498 in Ipswich. He was an
avid Red Sox fan, and enjoyed all professional sports. In his spare
time he enjoyed clamming and boating in Ipswich bay.
He is survived by daughters Kathryn
O’Neil and her husband James, Jo-Ann Turner and her husband Jeffrey,
and Mary Michaud and her husband Gary, all of Ipswich, grandchildren
Aaron LaRochelle of Ipswich, Michael Turner and his wife Marisa of
Las Vegas, NV, Teresa Belfiore and her husband Justin of Ipswich,
Cori Michaud of Exeter, NH, Shannon O’Neil of Ipswich, Catherine
Turner of Ipswich, Amanda Michaud of Ipswich, Jeanette Turner and
her fiancé Thomas Tombarello, Jr of Haverhill and Patrick O’Neil of
Ipswich, and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a
brother, William Burns of Essex and his sister, Kathleen Lavoie of
Ipswich, and many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late
John Burns, formerly of Ipswich.
His funeral service will be held
Tuesday 8 am from the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home, 6 High Street,
Ipswich, followed by a 9 am Funeral Mass in Our Lady of Hope Church,
Pineswamp Road, Ipswich. Family and friends respectfully welcomed.
Interment with Army Honors will be in the Cowles Memorial Cemetery,
Ipswich. Visiting hours are Monday 4 to 8 pm with a VFW service at 7
pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name may be
made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, 78 Liberty Street, Danvers,
MA 01923.
