Gene Burroughs. A light went out in Old Town on Nov. 9. Gene Burroughs, a 50 year resident, passed away from the effects of emphysema and lung cancer. Gene was born in Collinsville, IL on Nov. 2, 1926. After graduating from high school in 1944 he joined the U.S. Army, serving for 19 months until being honorably discharged in 1946. For the next 3 years he attended the University of Illinois, graduating in 1949 with a journalism major. His professional career working in Dixon, IL for the Dixon Evening Telegraph, soliciting and selling advertisement. In 1956 he moved to Chicago and began a 30 year career at Encyclopedia Britannica working in the advertisement department on direct mail and copywriting. Following retirement he worked part-time for Dixon Advertising in Lisle, IL, fully retiring in the late 1980’s. Gene was that rare individual, a person of total integrity and honesty. In fact, he made honesty a virtue. He was a competitive individual, an extraordinarily talented athlete, and an active participant in, among other activities, tennis, basketball and bowling. Until recently he was regularly playing basketball with a group of friends, and for many years was a member of a bowling league which participated locally as well as in national tournaments. A wordsmith with a brilliant, active mind, Gene was an avid reader, an enthusiastic scrabble player, and the member of a Sunday bridge group. Following retirement he regularly attended both the Lyric Opera and the Chicago Symphony and with colleagues he was an enthusiastic collector of antiques, often found at shows, estate and garage sales. Gene is survived by a sister, Nancy Staden; nieces and nephews; and too many friends to enumerate. He was a generous person whose home was always open to friends. A fixture of Old Town, he regularly entertained local and out-of-town guests. He was that individual always with a twinkle in his eye, whose loss will be felt by all those who loved him. And so good night Gene. You have made our time here that much better. Atque in perpetuum frater, ave atque vale. Memorials would be appreciated in Gene’s name to the Glen Ellyn Youth & Family Counseling Service, 535 Forest Avenue, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137. Arranged by Heritage Cremations. Information 800-936-1414.
