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Robert E. Burney III ’81

July 10, 2019, in Portland.

Robert went to Portland’s Lincoln High School and majored in biology at Reed, where he wrote his thesis, “Malaria: An Increasingly Important World Problem,” with Prof. G. Frank Gwilliam [biology 1957–96].

In his youth, Robert had a passion for cycling. After graduating from Reed, he competed in the 1983 Pan-American cycling trials and the 1984 Olympic cycling trials. He married Tanya Burney, and they had two children, Robby and Ross. The couple divorced while Robert was in law school. He earned his JD at Lewis and Clark Law School in ’91 and practiced personal injury litigation. The following year, he met the love of his life, Liza Burney, and they married a year later, living happily together with the boys, their dogs, and Robert’s large bicycle collection.

After some years practicing law, Robert turned his focus to financial services and insurance and ran his own company. He is survived by his wife, Liza; his sons, Ross and Robby; his mother, Virginia; his father, Robert; his brother, Charles; and his sister, Jessica.

Appeared in Reed magazine: March 2018

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