Robert Alan Burnham, 60, resident for 32 years of Poquoson, VA, died on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009, at home after a brief illness.
He was born in Farmington, Maine, on Nov. 11, 1948, the son of Lorrimer F. and Winona E. (Crabtree) Burnham, and grew up in Kittery, Maine.
He graduated from Robert W. Traip Academy with the class of 1967, received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine, Orono, in January 1973, and his Master of Engineering from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va., in May 1979. He was a licensed Professional Engineer in Virginia and in Maine.
He was an Associate Professor of Engineering, taught engineering and engineering technology, and served as the Engineering Department Head at Thomas Nelson Community College for 25 years, retiring in 1999. While teaching and in retirement he designed and consulted on the design of residential and commercial buildings and other projects, including the Eliot Baptist Church, the Poquoson Baptist Church, and the Second Baptist Church in Newport News.
Bob loved music. He played both piano and guitar and played in rock and country bands in Maine and Virginia. He also enjoyed painting and photography.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Pamela, of Poquoson; son, Brian of Williamsburg and his fiancee, Pamela Shimmin of Newport News; two very special cousins, Blaine Bryant and his wife, Merilee, of Westbrook, Maine and Joseph Burnham and his wife, Lorna, of Strong, Maine; father-in-law, Merle Molasky, of Eliot, Maine; brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts, nieces and nephews, friends and colleagues.