John Burnside's Obituary
John Howard Burnside died Saturday, April 18, 2015, at his home
in Anderson Township, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. He was 68 years
old.
Mr. Burnside was born December 26, 1946, to Robert G. and Mary
Burnside of Vandalia, Illinois.
He graduated from Vandalia Community High School in 1965. In
1969, he was awarded a bachelor's degree from the School of
Engineering at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale,
Illinois.
In 1968, he was married to the former Sherry Baumann, at the
First Baptist Church of Vandalia, with the Rev. Archie Brown
officiating. Sherry was the love of his life, as he was the
love of her life. A daughter, Shelly Dawn, was born to
them in 1970.
In 1969, the family moved to Livonia, Michigan, where Mr.
Burnside went to work as an engineer for the Ford Motor
Co. In 1978, he and his family moved to Cincinnati,
Ohio, where he built the Batavia Transmission Plant for
Ford. He then worked in management at the plant, until
retiring in 1999.
Mr. Burnside was a trustee of Anderson Hills United Methodist
Church in Anderson Township. He served on the board of the
Association of Retired Methodist Men (ARMM) and was a trustee of
Five Mile Chapel.
Mr. Burnside lived a life of generous service. A talented
carpenter, plumber, electrician, landscaper, and computer operator,
among other things, "he loved to help people," said his daughter
Shelly.
Mr. Burnside is survived by his wife Sherry of Anderson Hills;
daughter Shelly of Birmingham, Michigan; brother Gordon of
Edwardsville, Illinois, sisters Elizabeth, of Vandalia, Illinois,
and Anne, of Iowa City, Iowa; brother-in-law Harold Baumann, of
Vandalia, Illinois; and many nieces and nephews.
Mr. and Mrs. Burnside had established a scholarship fund for
engineering students from Fayette County, Illinois. In lieu of
flowers, memorial donations may be made to the fund: Old
Capitol Foundation / Burnside Scholarship Fund
Address: Trust Dept, First National Bank of Vandalia, 311
Bankers Boulevard, Vandalia, Illinois 62471
Graveside services will be held at 11:30am, Friday, April 24,
2015 at Fairlawn Cemetery, South 6th Street, Vandalia,
IL at 11.30am with Rev. Robert Weaver officiating. Hohlt
& File Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
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