Peter Blodgett Burnham, 84, son of Virginia and Douglass O. Burnham died on June 24, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, the former Ellen Cluett of Milton, MA and four children: Peter, Jr. of Seattle, WA, John of Hubert, N.C., Elizabeth Broderick of Marshfiled, MA, and Benjamin of Hingham, MA. He is also survived by two brothers, one sister, five grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
After graduating from Pomfret School in 1952 and M.I.T. in 1956 as a mechanical engineer, he became a commissioned officer in the Army and attended ballistic missile school in preparation for guided missile work at Aberdeen Proving Ground , MD.
Peter began his first year in business at Hydel, Inc., Waltham, MA. The following year he moved to Columbus, OH where he eventually became Director of Hydrodynamics Research Center, Abex Corp. In an early project he was instrumental in systems designs and testing of the crawler used to transport rockets from assembly to launch at Cape Canaveral. After more than 50 years the crawlers are still in service. He was central to several projects using hydraulics, one being transfer at sea of shipping containers between military vessels.
In 1980 Peter and his family moved to Connecticut to work with his brother, Bill, as co-owner of Trudy Toys, Inc., Norwalk, CT. Using an Enterprise Zone incentive they built a 57,000 square foot building and later took the company public as Trudy Corporation. In 1983 due to the success of Enterprise Zones he met with President Reagan in the Cabinet Room for a briefing and later testified before Congress.
In his retirement years, the family moved to Petersham, MA where Peter designed and built a passive solar house. He also served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the town.
As a father and grandfather he designed, built, and maintained the most fantastic go-carts, tree houses, and swings.
Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.