Charles Francis Burns died at home in East Hartford, Conn. on Nov. 4, 2022. He was 73.
Charlie was born on Aug. 9, 1949 in New Britain, Conn., the elder of two sons of Charles J. and Frances Garancher Burns.
He grew up in Newington, Conn. and early on developed a deep interest in music, which became a lifelong passion. He learned classical guitar, embraced traditional folk music, and was vice president of his high school’s folk music club. He was all for Bob Dylan’s controversial move from acoustic to electric guitar. He graduated from Newington High School in 1967.
Charlie studied liberal arts at Boston University for three years, drove a cab to make ends meet, played his guitar, and enjoyed the local music scene. He and his girlfriend Lynne bought tickets to Woodstock in 1969 but didn’t manage to get there.
He did not make the same mistake with the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Review, which he attended four times in four states in 1975-76; each performance had different supporting musicians including Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, and Joni Mitchell.
In 1970, Charlie returned to Connecticut to work for L.B. Haas & Co. in Hartford. Founded in 1840, Haas grew shade tobacco used to wrap cigars. Charlie ran one of their farms, which came with a farmhouse as a perk. There began his lifelong love of tobacco.
During Charlie’s college years, he and Lynne and another couple went to Days Cottages in North Truro in the off season, which at the time cost the four of them $8 a night. In 1973, he and Lynne got married, and the following year they moved to an apartment on the corner of School Street and Main Street in Wellfleet with their pet skunk. He had bought the skunk, whose scent bag had been removed, at a pet shop. Charlie had him for 14 years.
Charlie honed his skills as a waiter at Ciro & Sal’s restaurant in Provincetown. From that time on, Charlie worked mainly as a waiter.
With little work in the winter, the couple moved temporarily to New York City, where Charlie worked at the famous Junior’s Restaurant in Brooklyn. The punk music scene, with bands such as Blondie and the Ramones, was flourishing in their East Village neighborhood, so he and some friends formed a band called The Objects. The band ended up playing only for friends.
In 1978, Charlie and Lynne returned to Provincetown and bought a three-family house on Brewster Street. They both worked as waiters. The realtor, Pat Schulz, helped them by telling a manager at Seaman’s Bank, “These are good kids. Give them a mortgage.”
Later that year, the marriage ended, and Charlie moved to New Orleans, where he was a waiter on the Delta Queen.
In the 1980s, Charlie returned to Cape Cod and worked at Marine Specialties, driving a truck to pick up merchandise. To make sure he got the class B commercial license he needed, Charlie brought three lobsters to the driving test in Providence. He also drove for Sea Packers, Provincetown, carrying fresh seafood to the Fulton Fish Market in New York.
Charlie invested in the late Fred Hemley’s 9 Ryder Seaside Dining and worked as salad chef when it first opened in Provincetown. The two had worked together at Ciro & Sal’s years earlier.
In recent years, Charlie lived on Cape Cod and in East Hartford. His last job was at Gionfriddo’s Restaurant on Asylum Street in Hartford.
Charlie’s life wasn’t always easy, but he is remembered as a humble and kind soul.
He leaves his brother, Greg, of Arrey, N.M.; his ex-wife, Lynne Burns, of New York City; his companion, Lori Bucalo, of East Hartford; and many good friends.
