Kitra A. Burnham
Kitra A. Burnham passed away January 20, 2017, in Richwood, West Virginia. She was born April 3, 1949, in Ames, Iowa, to Francis H. (Buzz) Burnham and Julia G. Burnham. She spent her preschool years in Decorah, Iowa, and attended kindergarten through high school in Marshalltown, Iowa. She was a majorette in the marching band, was active in Girl Scouts, and was MHS valedictorian in 1967. She attended an NSF summer program at the New York Museum of Natural History after high school graduation. After receiving an AA degree at Marshalltown Community College, she earned a BA degree in Anthropology at Arizona State University in Tempe and an MS degree in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After an internship at the Smithsonian Institute and working at National Association of Allied Health Professionals in Washington, DC, she moved to Eugene, Oregon, and earned a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oregon.
Kitra moved to Richwood, West Virginia, in 1979, where she worked for 15 years at Seneca Mental Health and 20 years at Camden County Medical Center. She also taught Social Sciences for 15 years at Glenville Extension College and counseled for 5 years in the Women/Children Program at the Denmar Correctional Facility. She was active for many years in the Richwood Chamber of Commerce and was Chairman for 3 years. She loved life, people, dancing, hiking, camping, skiing, theatre, photography and reading, and she started theatre, skiing and hiking clubs in Richwood. She especially loved walking, participating in Volkswalking for over 25 years. She walked in all 50 states, biked in 46 and swam in more than half. She climbed to the highest points in 40 of the 50 states. She was an avid baseball fan and saw games in all but 2 professional stadiums.
She is survived by her father, Buzz, of Forest City, Iowa; her brother, Alan, and sister-in-law, Mary, of Livermore, California, and their three children and five grandchildren; her friend, Oscar Dillon, of Richwood, West Virginia; and their dog, Toby Joe.
Her memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, at the United Methodist Church in Forest City, Iowa.