Obituaries

Donald E. Burden

Former Mattituck resident Donald E. Burden died Feb. 26 in Middle Island at the age of 86.

Born Dec. 3, 1924, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, to Edwin and Marguerite (McAfee) Burden, he earned an associate degree from Nassau Community College in Garden City. In 1945, he married Florence Colucci.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 and again from 1953 to 1956, attaining the rank of TM-1. During World War II, he helped develop a depth charge that maximized a torpedo’s accuracy and force.

Mr. Burden was a project manager at Charles Pfizer & Company in New York City for 40 years. According to his family, he loved the sport of trapshooting, placing eleventh in the 1967 Grand American World Trapshooting Championship in Vandalia, Ohio. A member of the Amateur Trapshooting Association, he participated with his son, Richard, in trapshooting competitions throughout the United States. He also belonged to the American Legion in Bohemia and was a commander of the Smithtown Bay Power Squadron.

Survived by his former wife, his son, and five grandchildren, Mr. Burden was predeceased by his brother, James.

Visiting hours took place March 1 at Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue. Interment was at Calverton National Cemetery.