His mouth was significant from earliest time: as a very young child he chewed up rubber pants; as a young teenager he caught a BB in his front tooth; and, later his "mouth piece" was a pipe. But always he was a "serious eater" and experimenter with food. In his sixties he perfected a chili recipe which he used in Northern Virginia Chili Cookoffs.

After returning to Arkansas at age eight he helped his mother and grandfather in the family's garden - and later he used the knowledge he gained here to grow the variety of vegetables and herbs he used in his own cooking as well as his neighborly gifts. At this early age he learned to milk a cow and tend the plow horse. He fed, watered and curried that horse, Old Dobbin, who he would then saddle up and ride off through town. That was before he won a bicycle from a local radio station - the bike that he used on his paper route, riding to junior high and visiting friends.

Friends were always important, friends of each gender, friends of all ages, friends from all walks of life - friends for life. While in grammar school, Burns spent a lot of time with a special friend, Jimmy Meredith, who sang and played the piano. Each of the boys sang solos, but often formed a duet to sing novelty songs such as:

Burns always had a lot of friends in the neighborhood and at age ten he formed a club with them. They built a clubhouse, actually the caved-in foundation of an old house across the street, which they roofed over with junk wood and old carpets. Occasionally they would let girls and younger boys into the small room - especially in the evenings when they told ghost stories by candlelight. This group of boys played the ball of season (ie., baseball, football) and street hockey. In those days the latter was called "shinney" and was played with curved sticks and an old Pet milk can. Burns was somewhat clumsy and frequently came out of the games with bruises and scratches. As Burns was required to do chores around the house or garden his friends would often pitch in and help him in order to speed things along so he could join their play.

These people were lifelong friends, whom he visited in cities across the U.S. until his latest illness. He kept and cherished items friends of all ages gave him. For example, looking through his old stamp album one sees an abundance of German stamps from the 20s and 30s, many given to him by a very old man - an immigrant optician who talked of grinding lenses for telescopes, of scientific instruments and of life in the "old country."

Before WWII the family returned to Kentucky for a brief venture into running a combination country store and filling station. Burns was important as the "legs and muscle" for running the business, because he could drive and was mature enough to assist his mother in all the delivery and heavy lifting. He bought a Model A Ford roadster that was used for transporting fresh vegetables from Lexington to the store in Stamping Ground. Also, he quickly fit into the local social scene and acquired a full complement of friends - boys and girls. The Kentucky venture was cut short by the war, and in September, 1942, Burns and his Dad drove the Model A to Little Rock. Not long after that Burns entered the service.

Burns's childhood background in Arkansas and Kentucky hardly prepared him for life in the Coast Guard, at St. Augustine or Brooklyn or the North Atlantic. But he learned much during those years, and passed on to his family, especially his younger siblings, the lessons he had learned that would help them avoid similar embarrassments to those he had suffered. Further, he turned his landlocked past and yearning for fulfillment of "going down to the sea again," (his favorite poem in those days) into a challenge. A challenge that changed and expanded as the years went on.

Burns met Dottie Pierce in Portland, Maine where he was stationed at the South Portland Coast Guard barracks. On a dreary Sunday, Burns and his Coast Guard buddies walked into the Portland Masonic Service Center because they were broke and knew supper was always served Sunday evening. Dottie was one of the volunteers who brought Burns his food - and thus started the romance which lasted 51 years. The two were married in Baring Cross Baptist Church, North Little Rock, Arkansas on July 19, 1946 between semesters at the junior college he was attending.

Later Burns enrolled in the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and later still he transferred to MIT. He struggled with courses there, but, as with other challenges he had faced, with hard work and determination he overcame the difficulties and graduated with honors in electrical engineering.

In September, 1949, one week before his senior year began, Burns's first child, Randy, was born. The next two, Pam and Tim, were born in Buffalo, New York after Burns took a position there with Ferguson Electric Company. Burns stayed in the Buffalo area, with Mr. Ferguson, also an MIT alumnus, for 27 years. During those years Burns was active in the United Methodist Church in Williamsville and found that the northern Methodists suited him much better than the Southern Baptists he had grown up with.

From early adulthood till Alzheimers took its toll, Burns loved golf and bridge. His golf clubs and playing cards accompanied him on vacations from NY to Bermuda, from Florida to Kentucky, and were always close at hand when he was at home. He even spent time playing these favorite games with his Uncle Tom, who took up bridge at 75 and golf at 80. At these times Burns could tutor the fellow who had tutored him many years before.

Burns and Tom also shared the hobby of gardening. After all, they both had learned from the master, Bill Payne, whom Burns worshipped. The older Burns got the more he resembled this man, his grandfather. And he was quite proud to point this out to all of us.

By this time the Greggs were living in Oakton, VA - a great area for Burns to work as an engineering consultant as well as an avid home gardener. He was also close enough to Kentucky to fly, or drive, to family reunions, weddings and funerals. These visits - shared so lovingly by his family - took place in Grant, Harrison and Scott Counties, where his ancestors settled more than 200 years ago. Now the ashes of Burns Manson Gregg will lie among them in the Raven Creek Cemetery.