BonnerSprings.com

Dick Burns

Bonner Springs lost one of its biggest boosters this week.

Richard "Dick" Burns, a former industrial arts teacher and wrestling coach at Bonner Springs High School, and recipient of the 1994 Marion Vaughn Service Award, died Monday. He was 74.

Burns' legacy is still visible in the city. As director of recreation for Bonner Springs, then a part-time position, Burns was responsible for the construction of Kelly Murphy Memorial Park in the late 1980s. His industrial arts students built the sculpture, which he designed, that sits near the rear entrance to the Community Center.

Bonner Springs High School also plays host annually to the Dick Burns Mat Classic wrestling tournament.

"Dick was just a very active, outstanding member of community," said Bonner Springs Mayor Clausie Smith. "He did really great things for the community."

Burns taught industrial arts at the high school from 1959 until his retirement in 1993, after he had suffered a stroke that made speech impossible. He coached wrestling from 1966 to 1981, and was responsible for starting the school's wrestling program.

His son Dan Burns followed in his father's footsteps, both in teaching industrial arts and coaching wrestling.

"Sure, he influenced me," Dan Burns said. "I learned a lot of coaching strategy, not so much technique, but a lot of things to do to motivate kids."

Those strategies included activities "to make kids believe in themselves, hard work," Burns said.

Burns said his dad had harbored aspirations of being an architect or engineer, but chose to stay with teaching and coaching.

"He didn't want to move into administration, because it would take him further away from students," Burns said. "That's how important he thought teaching was, and being involved with students. The same thing with coaching."

"He totally ingrained himself into the Bonner Springs community," Burns said. "He loved it : 25 years ago, probably 90 percent of people at the gas station, if you asked where he lived, they could tell you."