Obituary of Duane Burnett

The Boulder community remembers Duane Burnett as a prolific architectural engineer/building contractor who brought innovation and invention to commercial and residential buildings between 1950 and 1986. He was the first to use the new method of air placement to blow on thin shell concrete in constructing hyperbolic paraboloid roofs including the remodel of the First Methodist Church in 1959. As a pioneer he developed the first all precast, pre-stressed, prefabricated, tilt-slab concrete buildings in the world, including ten White Motor Company buildings in cities across the United States. On the Front Range he was responsible for building the first clear span roof over 100 ft. long located on the building which now houses the Colorado-Flatirons Athletic Club on Thunderbird Lane. Other commercial buildings in Boulder and Longmont he designed and built using this construction system included the Folsom Offices. During the conversion of Pearl Street into a mall the restoration of the Citizens' National Bank Building was his contribution. Membership in the Kiwanis Club of Boulder was a favorite civic activity in the 1950's. Duane and wife Francis were charter members of Mountain View Methodist Church. Aviation was his passion. He learned to fly while serving in the US Army Air Force in 1944-1945. As one of the founding members and former president of The Soaring Society of Boulder as well as the Antique Airplane Association of Colorado he enjoyed collecting, restoring, and flying antique airplanes. The Older Boulder Pilots hung out at the hanger Duane and Pete Bartoe built in 1971 at the Boulder Airport. At that hangar friends welcomed Duane and John Schoonhoven back from their six week long flight tour of the perimeter of the United States. On that adventure Duane flew his single place open cockpit Skyote biplane which he had built from plans designed by Pete Bartoe. John flew his open cockpit Stearman biplane. It is there that his last and largest plane restoration project began in 1981. With the help of his friend Terry Edwards, licensed Aircraft Inspector to oversee the work on the 1939 Beechcraft Staggerwing D17S, Duane completed and first flew N47D on July 8, 2004. Duane and Francis (deceased in 2007) were married 62 years. He is survived by daughter, Tena (Fred) Engelman, of Colorado Springs; son, Larry Burnett of Boulder; son, Brian (Vera Robinson)Burnett of Oak Hill, FL; grandsons, Scott Engelman of Santa Barbara, CA; USAF Maj. Rick Engelman of Omaha, NE; Alex (Akiyko) Burnett of Louisville; Roger Burnett of Aiken, SC; granddaughter Betsy (Josh) Larrabee of Boulder and great grandson Beauden. A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 10:30AM at Mountain View United Methodist Church, 355 Ponca Place, Boulder, CO 80303. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Mountain View Methodist Church for their flood mitigation or a charity of the givers choice.