Doris Williamson Burns, wife of the late illustrator and cartoonist Raymond H. Burns, of Wilton, Connecticut, passed away in her home on Sunday, July 26, 2020.
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on November 2, 1920, she was the daughter of the late Herbert and Annie (Geddes) Williamson. The family emigrated to the United States from Belfast in 1929 when Doris was eight years old. They became naturalized U.S. citizens and settled in Stamford, Connecticut, where they resided for many years.
Mrs. Burns was a graduate of New Haven Teachers College (now Southern Connecticut State University). She obtained a B.S. degree with two teaching certificates, one for elementary education and the other for teaching children with special needs. Her musical education included vocal studies with Greta Schoenwald, former head of the Vienna Conservatory of Music, and Frederick Bland, former head of the coaching department at the Vienna Conservatory of Music, as well as with renowned singers Lotte Leonard, Pierre Bernac, and Aksel Schiotz. She studied operatic acting with Carlton Gaulda, a leading singer with the Paris Opera Company. She was awarded first prize for vocal excellence from the New York Singing Teachers Association and another first prize in competition from the Associated Concert Bureau of New York.
Mrs. Burns taught in elementary schools for several years while simultaneously pursuing a musical career. She coproduced and acted in a group of educational films designed to teach new concepts in mathematics, and conceived and wrote material for a series of children’s activity pages in the Grade Teacher, a national magazine. For two years she had her own radio show, which offered a variety of classical and stage music. She gave numerous concerts in major halls and appeared in concerts with conductors Eugene Ormandy and Julius Rudel. She held leading dramatic and singing roles in many productions by local theatrical and operatic groups, including the Wilton Playshop. She became a producer as well as a performer of the Southern Connecticut Opera Theater, which made a specialty of opera in English for public and private schools, and was a regular soloist for several area churches. She headed a committee to organize and produce cultural activities for schools and the public, thereby establishing contact with luminaries in the world of music, theater, and art. She took on a small part-time job that evolved into a 30-year career as director of recreation at a residence for senior citizens, first at Courtland Gardens and later at Atria, both in Stamford. There she created a successful and continuing series of varied programs designed to entertain and stimulate the residents. In this work she was able to utilize the talents of outstanding professionals in the fields of literature, business, politics, and religion, as well as music, theater, and art. Mrs. Burns was named Stamford Business and Professional Woman of the Year for 1984.
She was active in community service, serving in several roles with the Connecticut Foundation of Music Clubs and the Schubert Club of Fairfield County, where she held the role of president for several terms as well as musical services chair. She later volunteered at the Wilton Senior Center, leading the Scrabble games.
She remained active in recent years as an avid gym-goer at CT Fitness Lab, a member of Stay at Home in Wilton, and a member of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton.
Survivors include her sons John A. Burns and his wife Diane Lynch Burns of Milford, David R. Burns of New Canaan, daughter Jane E. Burns of Wilton, and granddaughter Sara Anne L. Burns of Stratford. She is also survived by ten nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband, Raymond Burns, she was predeceased by her brothers John (Jack) Williamson, Milne Williamson, and Herbert Williamson, and her niece Jacqueline (Jackie) Williamson.
A service will be held on Thursday, August 6, at 10:00 a.m. at Collins Funeral Home, 92 East Ave., Norwalk. Please check with the family for space limitations and livestream options. Interment will follow at Fairfield Memorial Park Cemetery in Stamford.
Donations in her memory may be made to:
KEYS, Inc., P.O. Box 532, New Canaan, CT 06840
https://www.keysmusic.org/About
or any organization supporting children and the arts.
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Doris Williamson Burns
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