Obit: Mary Marie Roberts Burns from De Ridder, LA (Columbia: credit, home)

[MaryG]

M. Burns, beloved English teacher
By Dana Hull
Mercury News
Mary R. Burns, a longtime and beloved English teacher at San Jose High Academy, died in her sleep at her Oakland, CA home Feb. 22. She was 71.

Her death over the Presidents' Day break deeply affected the close-knit school community. Students and alumni immediately created a shrine in her honor in the school's hallway, with photographs, notes of remembrance and flowers. Students are planning a celebration of her life at the school next Friday.

``The kids are devastated,'' San Jose High Prin****l Betty Doss said. ``It was all about her ability to connect with them personally.''

Ms. Burns retired in June 2005 after 33 years with San Jose Unified. But she kept coming back, substitute teaching three or four days a week.

Corina Ruiz, 16, a junior, credits Ms. Burns with making sure that she stayed on track to graduate.

``She just kind of found me and helped me a lot,'' Ruiz said. ``I could talk to her about anything. She always had something nice to say, and she was always there to listen.''

Burns kept a sharp eye on students who were considered at risk for failure, winning them over with her kindness, attention and sense of humor. She sometimes found students who weren't enrolled in her courses sitting in her classroom after school or during lunch. She also acted as an adviser to the school's Afro-American Student Union and helped seniors plan dances and graduation activities.

A Louisiana native, Ms. Burns was one of five children; the family moved to the Bay Area when she was a young woman. After her marriage ended in divorce, she went back to school, graduating from Mills College in Oakland in 1972 and later earning a master's degree from Stanford University.

She lived in Oakland's Lake Merritt neighborhood but, despite her long commute, she was often the first teacher in the building.

And she made sure her two daughters got the best education possible, enrolling them in the all-girls Castilleja School in Palo Alto.

``Education was No. 1,'' said Cynthia Burns Hemphill, who now lives in Germantown, Md., and considers her mom to be her greatest role model. ``She'd drive us to Palo Alto, then drive to San Jose for work, then pick us up, and we'd drive back to Oakland. We had a lot of family bonding time in the car.''

Ms. Burns often told her own children that her ``kids'' -- her students -- kept her young, teaching her the latest dance moves.

``When we chaperoned student dances, she came dressed to the nines,'' social studies teacher Mary Grunthaner said. ``I've known her for 10 years, and I've never seen her wear the same outfit twice.''

Mary R. Burns

Born: Nov. 19, 1934 in DeRidder, La.

Died: Feb. 22, 2006 in Oakland.

Survived by: Son, Daryl Burns of Fremont; daughters, Cynthia Burns Hemphill of Germantown, Md., and Jennifer Burns of Columbia, Md.; sisters Ida Wellington of Oakland and Addie Henry of Los Angeles; six grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

Services: A memorial service sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will be held today from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Beebe Memorial CME Temple, 3900 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave. Oakland.

Memorial: Contributions may be made to the Mary R. Burns Scholarship Fund at San Jose High Academy. Checks should be payable to San Jose High Academy, with ``The Mary R. Burns Scholarship Fund'' on the memo line. Send to San Jose High Academy, 275 N. 24th Street, San Jose, Calif., 95116. Attention: Linda Lima.