My sincere condolences to all the Burnside family on the passing of John. I enjoyed working with John at Nortel and remember how he used his wit and humor to brighten up the workplace and dull meetings. He could certainly be relied upon to be the life of the party with his jokes and sense of humor. I can only imagine he is telling a few of his favorite jokes in Heaven these days. May you be comforted in knowing that John brightened the lives of those who knew him in a special and lasting way.

I remember when I first met John in Silver Sneakers at Healthtrax...He stood out among everone in the class and I thought to myself 'I really have to meet this man'...Well not only did I meet him, we became good friends as I did with his lovely wife Margo...I remember when Margo went to Ireland I went to pick him up every day to take him to the club..I loved his company, he was a gem and so wickedly funny...I also had the pleasure of sharing Thanksgiving Dinner with he and his family several years ago..So many beautiful memories, I will miss him always!:blue_heart: Carol Craft

Lit a candle in memory of John Joseph Burnside

To Margo and the rest of the family... I did not hear the news about Johns' passing until today when i arrived for my morning workout at Healthtrax. I can't even begin to tell you how sad this made me feel. It's like I've lost one of my very own family members. John has been such a special part of my world at the club (and in Raleigh) over the last almost decade (?) He was such a unique character. I will miss his friendship, his smile, his laugh, his charisma, his love of all things political, his raunchy jokes. I will just MISS HIM. And there will never be anybody quite like HIM again... He was a diamond in the rough. For some reason though... I clearly hear him in my mind's eye telling us all some funny joke about an Irish "bloke" who meets a German "mench" in a bar... Not sure where it would go from there, but I'll wait to hear the conclusion until I see him again. My heart goes out to you, Margo, to Warren, Timothy and Nicole and to the rest of his family. May you hold fast to the wonderful memories of a truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind man! If there is ANYTHING I can do... please reach out. Yours, truly, and with the sincerest condolences, Stefan Beittel, Raleigh, NC

John was a great guy who always had a joke ready to share. He had a love of politics and I enjoyed listening and discussing various issues with him curbside. I know that Margo, his family, and the neighborhood will miss him dearly. Rest in Peace John, we will always remember you. Eileen Mahr

John's next-door neighbor is going to miss him dearly. When the Finnen dog Wally would come to visit, it was just fine for him to have the run of the house, and when the house was all inspected, Wally would sit next to John on the sofa.When we tried to get Wally off the sofa, John just told us to leave Wally alone....he was fine.