Burnham, Kitra A. (1949-2017)

BURNHAM, BRANSTAD, DILLON

Posted By: Paul Nagy, volunteer (email)
Date: 2/17/2017 at 14:02:15

Kitra A. Burnham
April 3, 1949 - January 20, 2017

RICHWOOD, West Virginia — Kitra A. Burnham passed away on January 20, 2017, in Richwood, West Virginia.

She was born on April 3, 1949, in Ames, Iowa, to Francis H. (Buzz) and Julia G. Branstad Burnham. After spending her preschool years in Decorah, she attended kindergarten through high school in Marshalltown, Iowa. A majorette in the marching band and an active member of the Girl Scouts, she, also, attended an NSF summer program at the New York Museum of Natural History after graduating from high school. After earning an A.A. degree at Marshalltown Community College, she completed a B.A. degree in anthropology at Arizona State University in Tempe and an M.S. degree in cultural anthropology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After an internship at the Smithsonian Institute and working at the National Association of Allied Health Professionals in Washington, DC, she moved to Eugene, Oregon. There, she earned a master’s degree in psychology with a specialty in counseling at the University of Oregon.

In 1979, she moved to Richwood, West Virginia, where she worked for fifteen years at Seneca Mental Health and then for twenty years at the Camden County Medical Center. In addition, she taught social sciences for fifteen years at the Glenville Extension College and counseled for five years in the Women/Children Program at the Denmar Correctional Facility. Active for many years in the Richwood Chamber of Commerce, she served as chairman for three years. She loved life, people, dancing, hiking, camping, skiing, theatre, photography, and reading, and she started theatre, skiing, and hiking clubs in Richwood. She, especially, loved walking, participating in Volkswalking for over twenty-five years. Indeed, she walked in all fifty states, biked in forty-six and swam in more than half. Moreover, she climbed to the highest points in forty of the fifty states. An avid baseball fan as well, she attended games in all but two professional stadiums.

She is survived by her father, Buzz, of Forest City; her brother, Alan, and sister-in-law, Mary, of Livermore, California, and their three children and five grandchildren; her friend, Oscar Dillon, of Richwood, West Virginia; and their dog, Toby Joe.

Her memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, 2017, at the United Methodist Church in Forest City, Iowa.

Wallace & Wallace Inc. Funeral Chapels & Crematory, Lewisburg, West Virginia, 2017.