Funeral: 11 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial followed in the Centerville Cemetery.
Thomas A. Burns, 83, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, died Sept. 8, at the Country Place Senior Living Facility in Ft. Scott. He was born Jan. 23, 1934, in Burrton, Kansas, the son of Howard Burns and Mary Westfahl Burns. Tom graduated from High School in Nixa.
He married Fama Jean Horst on Aug. 16, 1953. She preceded him in death on March 31, 2008. He later married Jeannine Scrivner on Feb. 20, 2010.
Tom had worked as both a correctional officer and counselor for Leavenworth Federal Prison for over 20 years. During this time, he served as union president of American Federation of Government Employees Leavenworth Chapter. He was a member of the St. John’s United Methodist Church and a former member of the Easton, Kansas Masonic Lodge. Tom enjoyed fishing, hunting and woodworking as well as metal detecting.
In addition to his first wife, Fama Jean, Tom was preceded in death by son James Howard Burns; sisters Irene Blankenship; sister Margaret Dyer; sister Evelyn Hennessy; sister Wilma; brother Wayne Burns; brother Sylvester Burns; brother Robert Burns; and brother Eugene Burns.
Survivors include his wife, Jeannine; daughter Mary Corpstein and husband James; son Thomas Ray Burns and wife Cathy; daughter Sandra Dee Gurss and husband, Gary; step-sons Gregory Scrivner and wife, Kristie, Neil Scrivner, Paul Scrivner and wife, Lauri, Wayne Scrivner and wife, Mona; grandchildren Jason Burns, Sarah Burns, Craig Corpstein and wife, Ruth, Charles Corpstein, Corey Corpstein, and Nikki Daly; great-grandchildren Truman Burns, Atticus Burns, Aaron Burns and wife, Hannah, Kyle Gurss, Claudia Gurss; 13 step-grandchildren and nine step-great-grandchildren.
Memorials are suggested to St. John’s United Methodist Church or Lee’s Paws & Claws and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com. Tom’s family would like to thank Country Place Senior Living, Mercy Hospital, Mercy Hospice and Prescott Country View Nursing Home for all of the care and love they showed Tom and his family.
