Joshua Ambrose Burns II, born in Nashville, TN, on March 14, 1942, passed away in Belen, NM, on November 29, 2025
A 1960 graduate of Sidney Lanier High School, where he received a National Merit Scholarship, he graduated from Harvard College in 1964 cum laude. He earned a Master of Architecture degree in 1968 from Washington University.
His professional career involved improving computer processes for energy conservation. For ten years, he developed and implemented energy-use monitoring and conservation software used in more than 1,000 schools in California and Canada. Later, as a partner at his own firm, he assisted educational and institutional clients nationwide in achieving significant reductions in energy use and costs. An avid birder, he helped to initiate long-term bird monitoring studies in Salt Lake City, UT, and Phoenix, AZ. Moving to Marfa, TX, allowed him to observe, record, and share information on bird activity in Far West Texas for twenty years. He contributed his records to comprehensive digital bird record efforts, including eBird.
He leaves his wife of 57 years, Elizabeth Kates Burns; one daughter, Caitlin Burns Tinker; two grandchildren, Beatrix and Alexander; and a brother, Mark Burns, of Indian Springs, AL.
Arrangements are being handled by the caring professionals at the Noblin Funeral Service Belen Chapel, where an online guest register is available at www.noblin.com
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joshua Ambrose Burns, II, please visit our floral store.