








It is with sadness and much love that we share the passing of John Burns, dear husband, father, and friend, who died on January 28, 2025, at the age of 77.
John grew up in Morristown, New Jersey playing baseball and golf before graduating from Rollins College with a degree in Economics. He was filled with adventure and curiosity which fueled a penchant for traveling and a deep appreciation of nature.
After college he set his sights on traveling through Europe by train, stopping in various countries to meet up with friends and make new ones. John worked a variety of jobs throughout his early life, eventually starting a painting business that enabled him the flexibility to set his own schedule and travel freely. Photography and journaling brought him joy. He reflected on the poems of Whitman and marveled at the literary works of Gabriel García Márquez, A Hundred Years of Solitude being a favorite.
He learned Spanish while living in Ibiza and studied it further in Mexico, Costa Rica, and other parts of Central America. Here, he fell in love with the culture, climate, and composition of the tropics. He particularly enjoyed snorkeling the coral reefs off the West End Beach in Roatan.
At the center of his curiosity was his love for birds. He kept track of his first encounters with new species, noting them in his various field guides. John was particularly drawn to birds of prey and shared this joy with others. He spent decades volunteering for the Fish and Wildlife Service, recording data on hawks and banding them during the fall migration in the Kittatinny Mountains.
John was also a horse racing enthusiast. He followed thoroughbred bloodlines and appreciated the pivotal skill that a jockey can bring to a horse’s performance. He looked forward to meeting up with friends for annual races in Gulfstream Park and Saratoga Springs.
John met his wife Violet in June 1984. Together they shared a passion for travel, nature, and conversation over good food. Bernardsville was home during their early years together until they settled on a riverside parcel in Hunterdon County in 1992. John helped restore the old barn and planted gardens on the property to bring fresh food into meals. He loved the strawberries in June and raspberries in July but felt a true sense of satisfaction when biting into the first Jersey tomato BLT of the season.
John became a dad later in life with the birth of his son, Cameron. He adapted quicker than he thought to being a father and shared his love of nature, sports, and travel. He taught Cameron how to fish from the beaches of Wellfleet and showed him the joy in watching the Yankees lose.
During Cameron’s freshman year at Gill St. Bernard’s, John was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He persevered for over a decade, to see Cameron graduate from Gettysburg College and begin a fulfilling life and career in Arlington, Virginia.
John enjoyed mornings on the front porch with his cup of coffee reading the daily paper while feeling the warmth of the sun. From the porch’s shelter, he liked to hear the power of lightning crack during thunderstorms and watch the rain fall as it blurred the sight of homes across the street, inviting Violet and Cameron to join him. He found solitude sitting down by the river in the evenings, fishing sometimes, but often just watching, listening and being with the herons, river otters, and trout that were active at dusk.
John valued his personal connection with family, friends, and neighbors. With friends he didn’t see often he would say, “No matter how much time passes, we always seem to come together and understand, the way true friends should.”
Life celebration services will be announced in the Spring under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Kindly check back on this page in several weeks for updated service information.
You are encouraged to visit John’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.
Memorial contributions in his honor and memory may be made to a place near and dear to John’s heart, The Raptor Trust, via mail to 1390 White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946, or online by clicking HERE.
________________________
Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”
It is with sadness and much love that we share the passing of John Burns, dear husband, father, and friend, who died on January 28, 2025, at the age of 77. John grew up in Morristown, New Jersey playing baseball and golf before graduating from Rollins College with a degree in Economics. He was filledContinue Reading