November 4, 2021
Burnham, Elmer A. “Bud”
Elmer Arthur Burnham Jr., painter of portraits, landscaapes and seascapes, and a resident of Plainville, died Sunday, October 31, 2021 at his home in Plainville. He was 93. Bud was born January 8, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Elmer Arthur Sr., and Eleanor (McGowan) Burnham. He graduated from Hyde Park High School with the Class of 1945. Bud married Alayne Barbara (Clark) at the Hyde Park Congregational Church. She predeceased him in 2019. He was an award winning Art Director and graphic designer for the Harold Cabot Advertising Agency during the 1960’s. Bud was the recipient of more than seventy five awards including a Grumbacher Painting Award and six prestigious Hatch Awards. His work is part of the permanent art collection of Brandeis University. His paintings cover a wide range of subjects; portraits, landscapes, seascapes, children at play and children at the seashore. After working in the advertising business, Bud worked for Lechmere Sales in Dedham while continuing to pursue his passion for painting. After retiring from Lechmere, Bud painted full-time until his death. He is survived by his son, Kenneth Burnham, and Ken’s wife Sally, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and his two granddaughters, Korrina Bucci, and her husband Jeremy, of South Deerfield, and Jillian Burnham of Wrentham. Bud was the brother of the late Caroline Pogan and the late Dorothy E. Nelson. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11 am at the Folsom Funeral Home, 87 Milton Street, Dedham. Interment will follow in Fairview Cemetery, Hyde Park. In lieu of flowers donations to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, New York, 10598 or to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105-9959 would be appreciated.
Comments(9)
Bud was a shining light to our neighborhood. He always brought wit and laughter into our conversations. I will forever cherish his beautiful and captivating paintings of our grandchildren. He will be deeply missed.
May God’s grace grant you and your family peace through this difficult time.
Emily and Mark, Jennifer, Heather, Lindsay
Bud touched everyone he came in contact with. A man with a sparkling personality and a deep caring of people. I was fortunate to know him for over 30 years and commissioned dozens of his works. This is a huge loss for all that knew him and the world.
Sincere sympathy to his beautiful family.
Bud was a great friend and neighbor to me and my son for many years. I will always remember his sense of humor, seeing him take his walks past my house and stopping to chat. And will always treasure the paintings he did for me. Our deepest sympathies to his son and family. He will truly be missed.
Bud was not just an ordinary neighbor. We just never saw someone who’s so kind, thoughtfull, caring and loving like him.
Moving to Haynes Rd in 2012, Bud was the 1st to welcome us to the neighborhood, I don’t think there was a week that went by that we don’t talk or he would call and check on us.
Bud became a very close friend with our family. We would trade green tea, chat, share stories and he would ask about my kids one by one, he knew them by name.
I think Bud left a piece of himself with everyone of the neighbors, he will be greatly missed.
For the 10 or so years that I knew Bud, he inspired and mentored me in the arts and shared experiences that helped me improve in my art. We spoke mostly over the phone but laughed and shared stories of our experiences with the art community. Since I was 10 years younger, he always had a story that would make things a little easier to swallow. I send my best to his family and wish them good health and a long life.
Bud was not just an ordinary neighbor. We never saw someone who’s so kind, thoughtful, caring and loving like him.
Moving to Haynes Rd in 2012, Bud was the 1st to welcome us to the neighborhood, I don’t think there was a week that went by that we didn’t talk or he would call and check on us.
Over the past 9 years, Bud became a very close family friend. We would chat, drink green tea together and share a lot of fun stories. He would ask about my kids one by one, he knew them by name.
Bud was an awesome dad and a husband too. He loved his late wife so much and was devastated when she passed. At his age, I never saw someone who’s so strong, and so determined. Bud became part of everyone around him, and I think Bud left a piece of himself with everyone of us. I know we will greatly miss him and we will always pray for him.
Mohammed
Bud was a caring and thoughtful neighbor.We will always remember him walking his dog in the neighborhood and always had a pleasant and smiling hello and time to chat with us. When he moved into the neighborhood and talked about his background , he recognized my family name and one of his best friends (Walter Siderwicz) also was a friend of my dad who lived in Norwood. Bud mentioned working at Lechmere’s in Dedham.
Our sympathy goes out to his son with the loss of a father he must be quite proud of.
Bob and Jean Grazado
Bud will be greatly missed. He was a great neighbor and always had a kind and encouraging word. He took time to speak to my children and always loved visiting with our dogs.
Our sincere sympathy goes out to his family.
Kathy and Bob Boissy
I met Bud at Lechmere Sales in the late 60s. I was an art school graduate with little motivation and he was just leaving a major Boston agency after winning 6 prestigious Hatch Awards in New York City and many others. He was taking a respite from that hectic world, and I was languishing, stuck in neutral. As fate would have it, we landed in the same department, and we struck up a friendship. Soon, he was inspiring me with advertising challenges that he had already experienced. And quietly, he instilled a confidence in me to get a job in the design business. And that truly changed my life. I worked at several companies, learning along the way, and eventually opened my own design business and thrived until retiring some 40 years later. Through all these years, Bud and I remained the closest of friends, always laughing, always engaged. When he first began painting, he said I may try my first portrait, one of Charles Munch a well known Boston conductor. When he showed me the result I was stunned and in disbelief… the likeness and sensitivity was truly remarkable. Thus began Bud’s lifelong passion for painting, and he was unstoppable. Nobody exuded more joy about life, was more prolific in his work…or could have been a better, more loyal friend. I will miss him so much.