Obituary for Honorable Luke K Burns Jr
The Honorable Luke K. Burns, Jr., 79, of Westminster,
Maryland, died on November 3, 2013, at Carroll Hospital Center following a
brief illness.
Judge Burns was born on January 27, 1934, in Baltimore,
Maryland. He was the son of the late Luke Kenny Burns, Sr. and Mary Jane Reed
Burns. He was predeceased by wife Sally Burns in 1989. He is survived by his
wife, Marcia Burns, whom he married in 1999.
He attended Loyola Blakefield High School in Baltimore. He
was educated by the Jesuit order, studying Greek and Latin, and received his
B.A. from Fordham University in New York in 1957. He received his LL.B. from
University of Baltimore School of Law in 1964. He was admitted to practice law
in Maryland in 1964 and was a member of the Maryland and Carroll County Bar
Associations.
He began the private practice of law in Baltimore. In 1972,
he moved to Carroll County and entered practice with Stanford Hoff and Charles
Stoner. He remained in private practice until 1978, when he was appointed by
the Governor as Associate Judge of the District Court of Maryland for Carroll
County. On September 28, 1979, he was again appointed by the Governor, then to
the Circuit Court of Maryland for Carroll County. Judge Burns successfully
stood for election twice, and he served as Judge until his retirement on
January 23, 2004. From the date of his retirement until his death, Judge Burns
continued to preside over cases in the Circuit Court for Howard and Carroll
Counties as a visiting Judge.
Judge Burns presided over thousands of cases during his
distinguished career. He was a kind, compassionate, and thoughtful jurist.
Attorneys both in the local community and across the entire state held Judge
Burns in high regard. He was as a mentor for countless attorneys and took pride
in their development as seasoned lawyers.
As a jurist, his greatest joy was presiding over adoptions.
After adoption regulations changed in 1984, Judge Burns offered to take over
the handling of adoptions from the other judges. On the day of his retirement,
one of the final matters on his docket was an adoption. “It's the best thing I
do,” he said. “I will miss doing adoption cases.”
Judge Burns loved books and was an avid reader. He was also
a passionate sports fan, beginning in his youth when he would travel by train
by himself to Philadelphia to see the Philadelphia A's play, and throughout his
entire life, following high school, college and professional teams. In later
years he enjoyed playing golf and vacationing in Florida.
Surviving in addition to his wife are son and
daughter-in-law, Robert M. and Jennifer Burns of Nashville, TN.; daughter and
son-in-law Nancy and Michael Reilly of Philadelphia, PA; grandchildren Kathleen
Blair and Sarah Margaret Burns, Jean Adelaide, Michael Luke, Peter John, Robert
William, Mark Augustine and Sally Elizabeth Reilly; step children and spouses
Parker and Vicki Leimbach of Westminster and Ashley and Matthew Baker of New
Oxford, PA; and step grandchildren Justus Kirk, Austin Jenkins and Jacob David
Leimbach, Coy Jenkins and Cade Whitman Baker; sister-in-law Lucy Horn Burns. He
is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins in the Maryland area.
He was predeceased by brothers John Reed Burns, Sr. and
Joseph Patrick Burns.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 7,
from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel, 412 Washington
Rd., Westminster.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday, November
8, at 11:00 a.m. at St. John's Catholic Church, 43 Monroe St., Westminster.
Interment will be in Westminster Cemetery with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions should be made in
his name to Carroll Hospital Center-Cardiac and Stroke Program, 200 Memorial
Ave., Westminster, Md. 21157
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of
Honorable Luke K Burns Jr please visit our Sympathy Store.
Pritts Funeral Home & Chapel
412 Washington Road
Westminster, MD, US, 21157
(410) 848-7533
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