Obituary of Ralph Harlan Burroughs

DURHAM - Ralph Harlan Burroughs, Jr. was born in 1925 in Pontiac, Michigan to Ralph Harlan Burroughs and Grace Duttweiler Burroughs. He was one of four brothers including James, Eugene, and Richard. He graduated from Alma College in 1948, received his masters from Oklahoma State in 1950 and then his PhD in Chemistry from SUNY-Syracuse in 1953. Ralph met his wife, Carlene Marks, on her first night living in Cleveland, Ohio where Ralph was working with Industrial Rayon Company. Ralph and Carlene were married in 1958 and had their only son, Scott Wayne Burroughs in April 1960. Ralph continued his career as a textile chemist in Covington, Virginia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Corvallis, Oregon; Tempe, Arizona; and Delmar, New York. He worked on developing fibers for carpet and upholstery, battery technology, alternative roofing technologies, and conveyer belt fabric for paper-making machines. He also developed properties on the side including a 50 acre subdivision, complete with a lake he built, in Covington, VA. Ralph and Carlene retired to Durham, NC in 1979, although Ralph continued to work in real estate and investments. Ralph adored traveling with his family particularly to the National Parks in the western US and Canada. Ralph was a devoted husband to Carlene, through 57 years of marriage, and loving father to Scott. He loved teasing and hugging his granddaughters Melissa and Emmy as well as his daughter-in-law Mia and niece Pam. They will miss him for his warmth, affability, generosity with his time and talents, his creative problem solving, his excellent grilled salmon, his corny jokes and, of course, the hugs. They are grateful for the many opportunities he created for them. They would especially like to thank the caregivers who added so much to the quality of his final year: Teresa Hiter from Comfort Keepers and the staff at LiveWell Care.