Patrick Joseph Burns
In the months after Patrick Joseph Burns died (on August 17, 2020) his daughter, Cheryl Gallagher, on behalf of her siblings, Kim Luke, and Todd and Stanley Burns, proudly notified the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation of their father’s gift of $200,000 as earmarked in his will – $100,000 toward the NICU and $100,000 toward the Cape Breton’s new Cancer Centre.
“We are immensely proud of our father’s life journey and legacy of giving,” says Cheryl, on behalf of the Burns family. “His generosity will continue to touch the lives of many in the future, just as it did in the past.”
Pat’s children say they were raised knowing family comes first, and that supporting community and helping those less fortunate were values near and dear to their father’s heart.
Two of Pat’s grandchildren, Adrienne and Joshua, were born prematurely and spent weeks in the NICU at the local hospital. One of his brothers, George, with whom he worked, succumbed to cancer. Both of these experiences touched Pat profoundly and led to his special affinity for both the NICU and the Cancer Center at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
Pat had a natural entrepreneurial spirit, and a drive to build a life for him and his family. Quitting school as a young teen, Pat went on to join the Navy. In the early 1970’s, he opened Pat Burns Painting, and in 1981 the business became incorporated as Pat Burns Painting Contractors Ltd. In 2015, Patty was named Irving Schwartz Business Person of the year.
Pat’s gift to our Foundation will ensure his legacy lives on, through his story, his generosity, and through his gift to healthcare in Cape Breton.
To learn more about Pat’s story, tune into this CBC Mainstreet interview featuring his daughter, Cheryl Gallagher.