NORWICH – Stanley E. Burrous, 82, a former resident of Norwich, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, February 28, 2011.
Stan was born on March 14, 1929 in Elkhart, Indiana to Viola and E. Lee Burrous, the second of their three sons and one daughter. He graduated high school in 1946 Peru Indiana, and joined the U.S. Merchant Marines for that summer. He attended Manchester College and then graduate school in the Botany Department of Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana 1950-1953. Though initially registering as a Conscientious Objector due to his religious upbringing, he changed his status to 1A after deciding the Korean Conflict was morally supportable, and was drafted by the US Army in 1953. He was discharged honorably in 1955 after serving as a research scientist at the Chemical Center in Ft. Detrick, MD. After working for Upjohn Co. as a research scientist from 1958 – 1960, Stan went on to complete his graduate studies and received a PhD from the University of Illinois in 1962 in Microbial Biochemistry.
While at Upjohn Co., Stan led a research group that discovered anti-viral activity of elenolic acid, and developed a device called the Archimedian screw homogenizer still used today in testing potential drugs. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Okalahoma State University in 1962 where he was the Senior Scientist in fermentation development, then worked at Squibb Institute 1963-1965 and was a Senior Scientist at Smith Kline in 1966 before moving with his family to Norwich New York to become the Unit Leader at Eaton Labs from 1967 – 1975. During his time at Eaton Labs he developed animal models of pyelonephritis, and synthesized novel antibacterials. After two years of business enterprises, he returned to science once again in 1977 as a health scientist administrator and referral officer at the Division of Research Grants, National Institute of Health in Bethesda MD. During the last five years of his tenure at NIH, he supervised the physiological chemistry study section which reviewed grant applications for projects studying gene expression and biosynthesis before retiring in 1990.
Stanley married Jeanne Whallon in 1956, with whom he had three daughters, Beth, Mary and Sarah; they divorced in 1983. He married Mary Albert in 1990 and they retired soon after to live in Boone, North Carolina; they divorced in 1997. During his retirement Stan discovered a passion for creating bowls, platters and tabletops on a lathe from trees unsuitable for lumber. His wood artworks have been featured in displays organized by the Ashe County Arts Council. He loved to use his wood creations as vehicles for philosophical commentary – a bowl that featured a hole in the bottom he named “Ecclesiastical arguments,” reflecting his strong belief in religious freedom. He found Steven Hawkings’ The Grand Design best described his view of reality, but was also fond of the works of Sam Harris, Bertrand Russell, and Richard Dawkins.
Above all, Stan will be remembered by friends and family as a most gregarious and welcoming man who had a seemingly unlimited mental repertoire of jokes and riddles that he could produce at will. He loved to make people laugh.
Stan is predeceased by his parents, his brother Wendell and sister Joyce. He is survived by his brother Merwyn, three nieces and two nephews, his two ex-wives, and his three daughters and their families which include five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren, and three great-gandchildren. His ashes will be interred in a national cemetery at a future date.
Donations in his memory may be sent to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, or the Ashe County Arts Council.