Borough to honor Mr. Burns

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Robert J. Burns, Sr., a Naugatuck resident, veteran and former longtime burgess, is pictured during Naugatuck’s Memorial Day parade in 2016. The borough will honor Burns during a ceremony on Saturday. -REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — For all or parts of five decades, Robert J. Burns, Sr. served the borough as a burgess, but his service to the community and country extended well beyond his role at Town Hall.

The borough will honor Burns for his dedication to Naugatuck during a ceremony on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Naugatuck Event Center, 6 Rubber Ave. The ceremony, why is open to the public, will include speakers and the dedication of the Hall of Burgesses at Town Hall to Burns.

Burns, a 94-year-old Democrat, was first elected burgess in 1973 and served on the Board of Mayor and Burgesses through this November, when he didn’t run for re-election due to health reasons.

It’s seems fitting that the ceremony to honor Burns will be on Dec. 7, the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that spurred the United States to enter World War II. Burns, a U.S. Navy veteran and member of the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame, served in WWII and the Korean War.

Mr. Burns, as he is affectionately known, also coached thousands of local youth athletes over decades volunteering with the Naugatuck YMCA Little Pal Basketball League and Peter J. Foley Little League.