The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Meet Your Neighbor

by Jacob Irish, Quill Reporter

Meet Your Neighbor Bobby Burns Sr.

Bobby Burns Sr. was born on January 1, 1986 in Burlington Iowa. Bobby was raised in Gulfport, IL, where he lived for 21 years. Mr. Burns then met his wife, Stephanie.

Bobby and Stephanie Burns were married on March 9, 2008. Together they spent a short time together in Burlington before deciding to move their family to Stronghurst in 2012.

Bobby's mother is Peggy Hancock. Peggy currently lives in Media with Bobby's step father, Keith Hancock. Peggy is the head housekeeper at Oaklane Nursing Home in Stronghurst. And Keith works for BNSF Railways.

Betty Rosenow is Bobby's grandmother. Throughout her life, Betty served as a nurse in the military, and later continued on in the medical field as a CNA. Betty is now retired and resides in Stronghurst.

Bobby has two half brothers on his mother's side; John David Krow of Dubuque, Iowa, and Henry Edward Forquer Jr.

Bobby graduated from Union High School in 2004 and currently works at Fishers Food Center in Stronghurst as a "Jack of all trades."

Mrs. Stephanie Burns works at the Family Outreach Community Center in Stronghurst as an AmeriCorps VISTA. Together Bobby and Stephanie have three children: Madeline Burns (8), Cody James Burns (6), and Bobby Burns Jr. (5).

Together, the Burns family attends church at the Stronghurst Christian Church.

While answering my questions and simultaneously cheering for his daughter at her Softball game Bobby told me about a few of his hobbies. In his free time, Bobby enjoys helping his kids with softball/baseball, playing video games, fishing with the family, and mushroom hunting.

One of Bobby's favorite family traditions is the Burns Family Thanksgiving Ham. Every year the Burns family bakes up a pineapple and 7up smothered ham instead of a Turkey for their Thanksgiving celebration.

Bobby plans to take his family on a vacation to Florida where he will finally get to witness an ocean first hand and fly in an airplane for the first time. In the future Bobby plans to own his own business, and eventually buy a new home for his family.

Bobby's favorite Quote is, "To err is to be human." He elaborated on this quote by explaining its meaning, Bobby said, "Everyone makes mistakes, and it is how you fix and make up for those mistakes that defines who you really are, not the mistakes themselves."

As we ended the interview, Bobby reminisced on his experience so far in Stronghurst. Bobby noted that ever since he and his family have moved to Stronghurst he has felt extremely welcome "Ever since I moved here I have felt extremely welcomed. And that's rare, I felt like a part of a community right away."