Obituary of Cary S. Burns

Cary Sturges Burns of Rye, New York, died peacefully at her Milton Harbor House home on January 17, 2020. She was 89 years old. Born February 2, 1930, she was the youngest child of Julia and Perry MacKay Sturges. She grew up in Princeton, N.J. and spent her summers on Shelter Island, N.Y. She graduated from the Dana Hall School and Smith College. She married Alan Lincoln (“Linc”) Burns in 1950. They spent three years in Burnt Hills, N.Y. followed by eight years in Charleston, S.C. They moved to Rye in 1962 and, save for a brief period, she’s lived in Rye ever since. A voracious reader, she polished off the entire Mueller Report before the ink had dried. She tackled the NY Times crossword puzzle first on paper and later in life on her iPad. She was rarely stumped. She embraced the rise of the computer and the internet but was forever frustrated that the digital world didn’t always behave as she directed. Tiger Woods and the NY Yankees were her favorites and the best summers were those when the Olympics were held. She was a keen tennis player until the age of 85, but her favorite summer activity was simply sitting at the beach at American Yacht Club with her crew. Creative and handy, she made needlepoint rugs and pillows, Nantucket baskets large and small, and beautiful smocked dresses for her granddaughters. Organization was a bedrock talent and few facts or figures escaped her attention. Her 2019 tax return will be the first one in 69 years that she did not fill out and calculate herself. Her family was always her number one, two, and three priority. Her husband Linc Burns died in 1990. She is survived by her daughters, Sarah Mitchell and Martha Marlette, and her sons, Gordon Burns and Duncan Burns. She is also survived by ten grandchildren and six great– grandchildren, all of whom she followed intently as they moved around the country and the world. At her request there will be no memorial service. However, it is likely that family and friends will gather one evening this summer on Picnic Point at American Yacht Club to share the joy of having known her.