Obituaries

Robert Barker Burtch, Jr. of 10 Tupelo Drive, Oswego, NY, died Sunday, October 15, at home.

He was born on August 27, 1943, at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital to Robert Barker Burtch, MD and Harriet (Tex) Dorman Burtch. He graduated from Alexandria Central School in 1961, having spent one year at St. Patrick’s School in Ottawa, ON. He also graduated from the Northwood School in Lake Placid, NY. He attended St. Lawrence University where he played varsity hockey and graduated from SUNY Oswego.

After leaving St. Lawrence, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army, graduating from The Field Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1966. He served as a forward observer for the artillery in Vietnam, earning a purple heart, 2 bronze stars, a silver star and a copper bracelet, a gift from the Montagnard tribespeople, which he wore for the rest of his life.

Bob spent most of his working life employed by Niagara Mohawk, now National Grid, where he was Director of Nuclear Communication. He was active in the Oswego Community, having been on the Boards of the United Way of Oswego County and Friends of Oswego County Hospice. He was a Lifetime member of the Oswego Elks, vice president and president of the Oswego Chamber of Commerce, and on the Oswego County Environmental Management Council.

Bob was deeply involved in athletics, having been a champion water skier in his teens (setting a world record for the youngest person ever to ski 100 miles nonstop on his 14th birthday), as well as a playing football and hockey in high school, and hockey and lacrosse in college. He continued to play lacrosse and hockey, finally hanging up his skates in his 70s, and coached hockey, Little League and lacrosse in Oswego.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Nancy Weeger Burtch (Oswego); their son, Robert Barker Burtch III O.D. and fiancé, Emma Schlieder (Saratoga Springs); a daughter, Christopher Penny Pedersen (Springfield, IL) and her fiancé, Darin Pritchett (Granger, IN); a grandson Earl John Greene III, wife, Paige and son, Hudson George Greene (Virginia, IL); a granddaughter, Nicholas Ashley Greene (Springfield, IL); a brother and wife, Dorman (Butch)and Karen Burtch and son, Paul(Nashville, TN); and a sister and husband, Harriet Burris MD and John, and their daughters, Elizabeth Burris and husband Won Heo (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and Katherine and wife Shanna Kline and their son Christopher David Kline (Hockessin, DE); and Freckles, the last in a long line of four footed family members

There will be a celebration of life on Sunday, November 12, at GS Steamers restaurant in the Clarion Hotel, 70 East First St, Oswego, NY, from 2 to 6 pm. Guests are encouraged to come with a story or photo to share.

The family encourages donations to Wounded Warriors and Folds of Honor in lieu of flowers.

Arrangements are in the care of the Dain-Cullinan Funeral Home, Oswego.

Condolences can be shared on the funeral home website at www.daincullinan.com.