Joseph M. Burns — teacher, author, and economist — died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 27, 2022, at the age of 83. Born in New York City, Joseph Burns was the son of Arthur Frank Burns and Helen Bernstein Burns. In the 1950s, his family moved to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where Joe graduated from St. Albans School in 1957. Joe's summer days were spent at the working farm his family owned for over 50 years in Ely, in the town of Fairlee, Vermont. In contrast to today, the region near the Burns farm had once been in the 1880s the site of copper miners' economic unrest and insurrection known as the "Ely Wars." In Joe's youth, Ely was a summer retreat and a think tank collective for his father and other prominent economists. Joe often recalled listening on the radio as a boy with his family to New York Giants baseball late into Vermont summer evenings.
Graduated from Swarthmore College with high honors in 1960, Joe then obtained an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. in economics (1967) from the University of Chicago. He published two books: Accounting Standards and International Finance, with emphasis on multinational corporations, and A Treatise on Markets, focusing on spots, futures, and options markets. Beginning in 1967, Dr. Burns' teaching career led him to Texas and Rice University as an economics professor and also to California as a visiting professor at UCLA and Stanford universities. He also lectured in finance at Georgetown University and was briefly a fellow at the Hoover Institute. Burns additionally worked as the Deputy Director of Monetary Research at the newly created (in 1974 by President Ford) Commodities Futures Trading Commission (1976-1979) to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, including futures, swaps, and options. Dr. Burns then worked as a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-trust Division. While investigating many prominent cases of anti-competitive business practices of the time, Joe often joked how he was the foremost authority in the country on billboard advertising, work that he found interesting, unique, and controversial.
Even though he had a distinguished academic and government career, Joe was most proud of being a father to his two children, Rebecca and Stephen. When they were children, he would often sing to them the old Doris Day song, "Qué Sera Sera." In the mornings, he would wake them up with the revelry song or Dr. Seuss' "It's a Great Day for Up." At other times, to galvanize them, he would sing — very off-key — "Roar Lions Roar," the Columbia fight song that was sung by his father to him as a child. Joe also loved to make up bedtime stories for his children about the adventures of animals, particularly bears, crocodiles, and hippopotamuses. Burns passed on to his children a love of animals, having many dogs and cats and long supporting animal rights groups. His interests also spanned from researching ancient and modern coins to extensive investigation of alternative natural medicine.
Even though both his parents were Jewish, Dr. Burns did not become a Bar Mitzvah until he was 50 years old on the mountaintop of Masada, the ancient rock fortress high in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. This Bar Mitzvah was on the site of the mythical story of Jewish rebels' last stand for freedom from oppressors and invaders. The primary focus of Joe's economic work was the concrete practice of helping to ensure freedom — specifically freedom of economic opportunity in fair and transparent capitalist markets. Joe assimilated his early Episcopal and Quaker schooling and strove to discover, understand, and embrace the Jewish meaning of Mitzvot, living his life with meaning and a strong sense of fairness.
Although Dr. Burns had a serious and respectful demeanor, those who knew him appreciated his quirky sense of humor, humility, compassion and assumption of good faith, and devotion to his family. Joe made a difference in many people's lives; he will be very missed.
Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ellen Herbst Burns, his daughter Rebecca Burns, his son Stephen Burns, and his brother David Burns and sister-in-law Christina Burns. Donations in Joseph Burns' honor may be given to Israeli Guide Dogs for the Blind (israelguidedog.org).
Arrangements are by Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel.
To send condolences to the family please visit the obituary page at OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.
Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel
1534 Pennington Road
Ewing Township, New Jersey.
Graduated from Swarthmore College with high honors in 1960, Joe then obtained an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. in economics (1967) from the University of Chicago. He published two books: Accounting Standards and International Finance, with emphasis on multinational corporations, and A Treatise on Markets, focusing on spots, futures, and options markets. Beginning in 1967, Dr. Burns' teaching career led him to Texas and Rice University as an economics professor and also to California as a visiting professor at UCLA and Stanford universities. He also lectured in finance at Georgetown University and was briefly a fellow at the Hoover Institute. Burns additionally worked as the Deputy Director of Monetary Research at the newly created (in 1974 by President Ford) Commodities Futures Trading Commission (1976-1979) to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, including futures, swaps, and options. Dr. Burns then worked as a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-trust Division. While investigating many prominent cases of anti-competitive business practices of the time, Joe often joked how he was the foremost authority in the country on billboard advertising, work that he found interesting, unique, and controversial.
Even though he had a distinguished academic and government career, Joe was most proud of being a father to his two children, Rebecca and Stephen. When they were children, he would often sing to them the old Doris Day song, "Qué Sera Sera." In the mornings, he would wake them up with the revelry song or Dr. Seuss' "It's a Great Day for Up." At other times, to galvanize them, he would sing — very off-key — "Roar Lions Roar," the Columbia fight song that was sung by his father to him as a child. Joe also loved to make up bedtime stories for his children about the adventures of animals, particularly bears, crocodiles, and hippopotamuses. Burns passed on to his children a love of animals, having many dogs and cats and long supporting animal rights groups. His interests also spanned from researching ancient and modern coins to extensive investigation of alternative natural medicine.
Even though both his parents were Jewish, Dr. Burns did not become a Bar Mitzvah until he was 50 years old on the mountaintop of Masada, the ancient rock fortress high in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. This Bar Mitzvah was on the site of the mythical story of Jewish rebels' last stand for freedom from oppressors and invaders. The primary focus of Joe's economic work was the concrete practice of helping to ensure freedom — specifically freedom of economic opportunity in fair and transparent capitalist markets. Joe assimilated his early Episcopal and Quaker schooling and strove to discover, understand, and embrace the Jewish meaning of Mitzvot, living his life with meaning and a strong sense of fairness.
Although Dr. Burns had a serious and respectful demeanor, those who knew him appreciated his quirky sense of humor, humility, compassion and assumption of good faith, and devotion to his family. Joe made a difference in many people's lives; he will be very missed.
Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ellen Herbst Burns, his daughter Rebecca Burns, his son Stephen Burns, and his brother David Burns and sister-in-law Christina Burns. Donations in Joseph Burns' honor may be given to Israeli Guide Dogs for the Blind (israelguidedog.org).
Arrangements are by Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel.
To send condolences to the family please visit the obituary page at OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.
Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel
1534 Pennington Road
Ewing Township, New Jersey.
Joseph M. Burns — teacher, author, and economist — died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 27, 2022, at the age of 83. Born in New York City, Joseph Burns was the son of Arthur Frank Burns and Helen Bernstein Burns. In the 1950s, his family moved to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where Joe graduated from St. Albans School in 1957. Joe's summer days were spent at the working farm his family owned for over 50 years in Ely, in the town of Fairlee, Vermont. In contrast to today, the region near the Burns farm had once been in the 1880s the site of copper miners' economic unrest and insurrection known as the "Ely Wars." In Joe's youth, Ely was a summer retreat and a think tank collective for his father and other prominent economists. Joe often recalled listening on the radio as a boy with his family to New York Giants baseball late into Vermont summer evenings.
Graduated from Swarthmore College with high honors in 1960, Joe then obtained an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. in economics (1967) from the University of Chicago. He published two books: Accounting Standards and International Finance, with emphasis on multinational corporations, and A Treatise on Markets, focusing on spots, futures, and options markets. Beginning in 1967, Dr. Burns' teaching career led him to Texas and Rice University as an economics professor and also to California as a visiting professor at UCLA and Stanford universities. He also lectured in finance at Georgetown University and was briefly a fellow at the Hoover Institute. Burns additionally worked as the Deputy Director of Monetary Research at the newly created (in 1974 by President Ford) Commodities Futures Trading Commission (1976-1979) to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, including futures, swaps, and options. Dr. Burns then worked as a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-trust Division. While investigating many prominent cases of anti-competitive business practices of the time, Joe often joked how he was the foremost authority in the country on billboard advertising, work that he found interesting, unique, and controversial.
Even though he had a distinguished academic and government career, Joe was most proud of being a father to his two children, Rebecca and Stephen. When they were children, he would often sing to them the old Doris Day song, "Qué Sera Sera." In the mornings, he would wake them up with the revelry song or Dr. Seuss' "It's a Great Day for Up." At other times, to galvanize them, he would sing — very off-key — "Roar Lions Roar," the Columbia fight song that was sung by his father to him as a child. Joe also loved to make up bedtime stories for his children about the adventures of animals, particularly bears, crocodiles, and hippopotamuses. Burns passed on to his children a love of animals, having many dogs and cats and long supporting animal rights groups. His interests also spanned from researching ancient and modern coins to extensive investigation of alternative natural medicine.
Even though both his parents were Jewish, Dr. Burns did not become a Bar Mitzvah until he was 50 years old on the mountaintop of Masada, the ancient rock fortress high in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. This Bar Mitzvah was on the site of the mythical story of Jewish rebels' last stand for freedom from oppressors and invaders. The primary focus of Joe's economic work was the concrete practice of helping to ensure freedom — specifically freedom of economic opportunity in fair and transparent capitalist markets. Joe assimilated his early Episcopal and Quaker schooling and strove to discover, understand, and embrace the Jewish meaning of Mitzvot, living his life with meaning and a strong sense of fairness.
Although Dr. Burns had a serious and respectful demeanor, those who knew him appreciated his quirky sense of humor, humility, compassion and assumption of good faith, and devotion to his family. Joe made a difference in many people's lives; he will be very missed.
Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ellen Herbst Burns, his daughter Rebecca Burns, his son Stephen Burns, and his brother David Burns and sister-in-law Christina Burns. Donations in Joseph Burns' honor may be given to Israeli Guide Dogs for the Blind (israelguidedog.org).
Arrangements are by Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel.
To send condolences to the family please visit the obituary page at OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.
Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel
1534 Pennington Road
Ewing Township, New Jersey.
Graduated from Swarthmore College with high honors in 1960, Joe then obtained an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. in economics (1967) from the University of Chicago. He published two books: Accounting Standards and International Finance, with emphasis on multinational corporations, and A Treatise on Markets, focusing on spots, futures, and options markets. Beginning in 1967, Dr. Burns' teaching career led him to Texas and Rice University as an economics professor and also to California as a visiting professor at UCLA and Stanford universities. He also lectured in finance at Georgetown University and was briefly a fellow at the Hoover Institute. Burns additionally worked as the Deputy Director of Monetary Research at the newly created (in 1974 by President Ford) Commodities Futures Trading Commission (1976-1979) to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, including futures, swaps, and options. Dr. Burns then worked as a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-trust Division. While investigating many prominent cases of anti-competitive business practices of the time, Joe often joked how he was the foremost authority in the country on billboard advertising, work that he found interesting, unique, and controversial.
Even though he had a distinguished academic and government career, Joe was most proud of being a father to his two children, Rebecca and Stephen. When they were children, he would often sing to them the old Doris Day song, "Qué Sera Sera." In the mornings, he would wake them up with the revelry song or Dr. Seuss' "It's a Great Day for Up." At other times, to galvanize them, he would sing — very off-key — "Roar Lions Roar," the Columbia fight song that was sung by his father to him as a child. Joe also loved to make up bedtime stories for his children about the adventures of animals, particularly bears, crocodiles, and hippopotamuses. Burns passed on to his children a love of animals, having many dogs and cats and long supporting animal rights groups. His interests also spanned from researching ancient and modern coins to extensive investigation of alternative natural medicine.
Even though both his parents were Jewish, Dr. Burns did not become a Bar Mitzvah until he was 50 years old on the mountaintop of Masada, the ancient rock fortress high in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. This Bar Mitzvah was on the site of the mythical story of Jewish rebels' last stand for freedom from oppressors and invaders. The primary focus of Joe's economic work was the concrete practice of helping to ensure freedom — specifically freedom of economic opportunity in fair and transparent capitalist markets. Joe assimilated his early Episcopal and Quaker schooling and strove to discover, understand, and embrace the Jewish meaning of Mitzvot, living his life with meaning and a strong sense of fairness.
Although Dr. Burns had a serious and respectful demeanor, those who knew him appreciated his quirky sense of humor, humility, compassion and assumption of good faith, and devotion to his family. Joe made a difference in many people's lives; he will be very missed.
Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ellen Herbst Burns, his daughter Rebecca Burns, his son Stephen Burns, and his brother David Burns and sister-in-law Christina Burns. Donations in Joseph Burns' honor may be given to Israeli Guide Dogs for the Blind (israelguidedog.org).
Arrangements are by Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel.
To send condolences to the family please visit the obituary page at OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.
Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel
1534 Pennington Road
Ewing Township, New Jersey.
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