Gordon Burns, 74, of Sebastopol, died on Dec. 25 after a long battle with cancer.

He is survived by Aino, his wife of 47 years; son Gregory Burns
and wife Jaleh; daughter Christina Camara and husband Luis and
grandchildren Roshan, Seena, Christian, Ashley and Luis. He is also
survived by his brother David Burns and his wife, Alice; sister
Norma Lamb and husband Charles of England and sister Irene Mason
and her husband, Bryan of Australia as well as several nephews and
nieces in England and Australia.
Gordon’s parents emigrated from England to the United States in
1929, and Gordon was born in Massachusetts in 1930. The depression
years forced the family to return to England when Gordon was only a
year old. He started work in a Lancashire textile mill at the early
age of 14. At 18 he decided to claim his United States citizenship
and returned to Massachusetts. He joined the U.S. Air Force and
spent four years as a medical technician at the Air Force hospital
in Wiesbaden, Germany. After his discharge he moved west to
California, where he met his future wife in Los Angeles. In 1960
the family moved to the Bay Area, where Gordon got a college degree
on the GI Bill and worked as a juvenile hall counselor in San Mateo
County and a probation officer in Marin County. The family moved to
Sebastopol in 1970.
Gordon was a furniture builder, potter, painter, gardener, a
traveler in the west, as well as a lover of classical music and
reading. In his later years he took great pleasure in spending time
with his grandchildren, camping and taking them to the coast.
No formal service will be held. Donations in his memory may be
made to the Lymphoma Research Foundation of America, Inc., 8800
Venice Boulevard, Suite 207, Los Angeles, CA 90034.