Anne Marie (Donovan) Burnham, of Kennebunk, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2021. Anne was born on June 17, 1922, to Matthew Donovan and Catherine (Russell) Donovan in Bayonne, New Jersey, the youngest of four children. After graduating from Holy Family Academy in Bayonne, Anne attended secretarial school.
During her first job, she met the love of her life, Alonzo K. “Burnie” Burnham; they married in November of 1942. Anne and Burnie moved frequently in the early years of their marriage, as Burnie was an engineer who worked on bridges, tunnels, and other heavy construction projects in Tennessee, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. During those years, she and Burnie had three sons: Charles, Russell and Richard.
In the early-1960s, the family settled into a home in Dumont, New Jersey, where Anne and Burnie lived happily until Burnie passed away in 1988. By then, all of her “boys” had settled in New England. In 1996, Anne relocated to Maine, where sons Charlie and Russ were living, and chose the beautiful community of Kennebunk, where she made many more happy memories.
Anne loved to say that she lived a “blessed life,” and there is no doubt that her Guardian Angels took very good care of her. Her faith was matter-of-fact and a great source of strength for her.
She was a conscientious homemaker and a loving wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved being with and talking to not only her immediate family, but also her cousins, nephews, nieces and all their offspring, as well as anyone who might stop in to see her and take a chocolate from her always-full candy bowl at Huntington Common.
Virtually everyone who knew Anne felt that they had a special relationship with her. She loved visits from and playtime with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Throughout her long life, Anne’s home was often filled with music and laughter. She loved to dance and continued to do so even after she was wheelchair-bound; she simply could not keep her feet still when Lawrence Welk or another of her favorites was on. And she could “name that tune” within the first few beats of all the old standards. Anne and Burnie loved golf, bridge and bowling, and she continued to enjoy those hobbies even after Burnie passed away. She also played a good game of Scrabble right up to the end.
Anne is survived by her three sons: Charles K. Burnham, who lives in Bath; Russell E. Burnham, who lives in Carolina Shores, North Carolina; and Richard E. Burnham, who lives in Lake Mary, Florida. She is also survived by seven grandchildren (Matthew Burnham of Holden, Massachusetts; Timothy Burnham of Nashville, Tennessee; Andrew Burnham of Spring Hill, Tennessee; Stephen Burnham of Acworth, Georgia; Russell Burnham of Marietta, Georgia; Catherine Lucas of Northampton, Massachusetts; and Christina Sudler of Bernardsville, New Jersey) as well as 11 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
A Requiem Mass will be celebrated for Anne at a future date, and she will be laid to rest in New Jersey. Memorial contributions are not solicited, but Anne would love it if you would commit some random acts of kindness in her memory.
To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Anne’s Book of Memories Page at www.bibberfuneral.com.
Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.
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