Stevens Lindsay Burns passed away August 28th, 2026 after a long battle with dementia in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, his home for the past thirteen years. Steve will lovingly be remembered as a devoted husband, remarkable father, the very best of “Grand-dads”, and the most loyal of friends.

Steve was born August 21, 1942 in war-time Mobile, Alabama to Gordon and Amilea Burns. He was the first of three sons and lived an idyllic early life with his brothers Bobby and Alan, alternating between his home in Mobile and family properties on Mobile Bay and on the coast in Gautier, Mississippi. Known as a waterman, long before it was a term, Steve once waterskied from shore to shore across Mobile Bay (allegedly on a paddle because a ski was unavailable), just to prove that it could be done. A proud graduate of Murphy High School, Steve attended every reunion and kept up with his classmates to the very end. After high school he moved upstate to attend and graduate from Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering. It was there that he began his lifetime love affair and devotion to the Tigers. War Damn Eagle! His pride in being a Sigma Chi at Auburn extended throughout his life. He never took off his Sigma Chi Auburn signet ring. It was his great joy to see his grandson Wilson pledge Sigma Chi at the University of Florida (though obviously he would have preferred Auburn!).

After graduating, Steve was commissioned into the United States Navy and served with distinction on the USS John King, a guided missile destroyer in the Mediterranean. Towards the end of his service, while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, he met a young teacher from Western North Carolina. He and Harriett Hamrick Barron married in 1968 and shortly thereafter moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where Steve started his first job. In 1971, Steve and Harriett were blessed with the arrival of their first child, Scott Barron Burns. Steve’s career move to Charlotte, NC heralded the arrival of their second child in 1974, Blair Lindsay Burns. Over the course of the next two decades, Steve and his young family moved around quite a bit, allowing everyone to see many different parts of the country-next, on to Los Angeles, California, followed by moves to Washington DC, Atlanta, Georgia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, West Virginia. In each new city, Steve and Harriett became experts at assimilation, immediately jumping into new friend groups and organizations. Steve was the coach of all of the kids’ sports teams and also quietly developed a nationwide reputation as a legendary pick-up basketball practitioner. As the boys grew older, he frequently took delight in squashing their hoop dreams, as well as those of their friends. With his old school moves, hook shots, bank shots, and signature headband, the back yard battles became lore.

In 1995, Steve pivoted in his career, taking an executive role with SCANA in Columbia, South Carolina. Always feeling the pull of the water, he happily purchased a home on Lake Murray, and began his love affair with lake life and lake living. Their home became the favorite destination for his sons and all their friends. He taught all of his grandchildren how to dive (always giving ratings on a ten point scale) and to waterski. Perhaps more importantly, he taught his grandchildren the deeply held value of nightly cocktail cruises at sunset. After retirement, and in a desire to be closer to family, Steve and Harriett pulled up stakes one last time and moved to Mount Pleasant. They wasted no time in becoming happy and proud members of the Grassy Creek community as well as Christ Our King Catholic Church. Over his last few years, Steve took great pleasure in being a part of the Grassy Creek men’s golf group, though we suspect his favorite part was the post round beers at the local Dog and Duck.

Steve was preceded in death by his beloved wife, who passed away somewhat suddenly in 2024. He is proudly survived by his two sons, Scott (Holland) and Blair (Christina), as well as his six remarkable grandchildren: Stevens Barron Burns, James Wilson Burns, and McCrae Lawson Burns of Mount Pleasant; and Madeline Grace Burns, Anna Lindsay Burns, and Elijah Lewis Burns of Vienna, Virginia. The family will hold a private graveside service at Mepkin Abbey at a later date.

Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Mount Pleasant Chapel.

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