December 12th, 2024

Long-time Claremonter, husband, adventurer

Claremont native and longtime resident Rob Burwell died October 13 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he had lived since 2018 with his wife of 25 years, Jan Burwell.

“Rob was a man who loved adventure, ideas and new experiences,” his family shared. “He was devoted to his friends and to Jan and was a deeply caring dentist much loved by his patients and recognized as a skilled practitioner by other local dentists.”

Rob was born in Claremont in 1945, the son of Helen Harvey Burwell (Frampton) and Laurance Alwyn Burwell. He graduated from Claremont High School in 1963, and studied at Utah State University, Chaffey College, and Humboldt State University, where he earned a degree in biology in 1968.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation from college and became a jet fighter pilot as well as a squadron navigation officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Following his military service he enrolled at Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in dentistry.

Returning to California, he began his career as a dentist in Bakersfield in the early 1970s. After two years there he relocated to Claremont, where he practiced dentistry for 46 years, mostly at his office in the Vons shopping center at Mills Avenue and Base Line Road. This made him a regular diner at Euro Café, where he often met with friends to talk about books and solve the world’s problems.

He transferred his love of high-speed travel in fighter jets to motion on two wheels, becoming part of a gang of Claremont motorcycle enthusiasts that included Bill Bentley, Joe Unis, Tom Beal, Tom Wait, Bill Clemens, and Griff Roberts. “This group of illustrious Claremonters made frequent excursions up and down the California coast, out to Death Valley, and zipping along the Angeles Crest Highway,” his family added. “Rob often spoke of these adventures and all involved remember them as exceptional times of fun and camaraderie.”

Music was another of his passions. He grew up listening to his maternal grandparents play piano duets in their Harvard Avenue home. His father was a natural pianist and could play any tune by ear. He opted for the drums and played tympani in the CHS Orchestra and in the Claremont Symphony Orchestra while still a high school student. “Rob was the guy in college who preferred classical music to rock ‘n’ roll and always had a special place in his heart for the Romantics and Mahler, although it is also reported that he played the banjo in a folk music group at Humboldt State,” his family said. He was a faithful season ticket holder for performances of the LA Philharmonic and was a huge fan of Gustavo Dudamel.

He had been married twice before he became reacquainted with Jan Stanfield, also a longtime Claremont resident with deep family roots in town. He and Jan had known each other since both were students at El Roble Intermediate School. She had gone to college in the Midwest and had a successful business career in San Diego before returning to Claremont and devoting herself to arts organizations in the local community. They married in 1999 and enjoyed a wide circle of friends, activities, and travel in the U.S. and abroad. “But after Rob’s retirement in 2018 something began pulling at them to move once more out of their familiar orbits and explore the possibility of a last great adventure,” his family said.

They pulled up stakes that year and moved to the beautiful, ancient colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in the central highlands of Mexico, at first as an experiment but one they found to their liking. They found new friends among the lively circle of expatriates living in San Miguel to complement a steady stream of visitors from “the old country.” They explored Mexico and sought out the most interesting galleries, restaurants and historic sites in San Miguel.

But his time for new adventure was more limited than he could have realized. He had suffered for some time from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and began to have problems with balance. He moved to “Sofy Cares,” a small private assisted living facility in San Miguel staffed by local nursing assistants. His decline was accelerated by a fall and broken hip that could never be properly repaired.

In the company of dear friends and his wife, he succumbed to pneumonia and congestive heart failure on October 13. He is also survived by his brother Stan Burwell of Claremont.