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Dec 16, 2023

Hartwell Blair Burner Jr.

H. Blair Burner, who used his passion for mathematics and software engineering to help businesses and industries move into the computer age, died Aug. 24 at his home in Bellevue. He was 91. He was

H. Blair Burner, who used his passion for mathematics and software engineering to help businesses and industries move into the computer age, died Aug. 24 at his home in Bellevue. He was 91.

He was born Feb. 11, 1932 in the tiny farming town of Hope, N.D. to Hartwell Burner Sr. and Thea (Brainerd) Burner.

He taught high school math and later was an instructor at the University of North Dakota and Iowa State University, receiving his Master’s Degree in mathematics before being recruited by Boeing in Seattle to become part of its nascent computing division in 1960.

He and his family moved to Pullman in 1966, where he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Washington State University while teaching graduate students and managing the school’s computing center.

He returned to Boeing Computer Services in 1972, where he helped with the Integrated Programs for Aerospace Vehicle Design (IPAD) project that linked software across remote networks, becoming a precursor for the internet and later cloud computing.

In 1981 he left BCS to form his own consulting business, WISE Corp. (later WISDM Corp.). He led requirements workshops for companies such as AT&T, General Motors and Citicorp that bought together subject matter experts from throughout the organizations and resulted in strategic plans and process models that were used to design and develop software applications.

Blair and his wife, Lavina, raised four children. He loved the outdoors, taking his family on hikes and volunteering with his sons’ Boy Scout troop. He played the piano, loved opera and classical music, never lost his enthusiasm for aviation and was a skilled woodworker. Blair was particularly fond of his grandchildren, whom he encouraged to excel intellectually at very young ages. He invested many hours teaching and tutoring them, sharing his life’s lessons and especially his fondness for mathematics and science. After retiring he developed and taught a Fifth Grade Challenge Mathematics class at Woodridge Elementary School in Bellevue, where he worked to encourage his same passion for mathematics in young students.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, LaVina, children Marcia (Richard) Hansen, Dell Burner, Tim (Cami Gearhart) Burner and Linda (Brad) Augustine, nine grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, sisters Margit and Phyllis and brother Bob. Remembrances in Blair’s name may be made to Providence Hospice in Seattle, WA.