Nora Eileen Burnham

Nora Eileen Burnham passed away September 8, 2019, in her garden, surrounded by family, trees, and birds, after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Born July 16, 1953 in San Francisco, CA, Nora grew up in San Lorenzo, CA, and graduated from Bishop O’Dowd High School. She then moved to Chico, where she attended Chico State and graduated with a Bachelors and Masters in Speech and Language Learning. Her career afforded her the opportunity to work in gorgeous places such as Fall River Mills and Calistoga, and she adventurously spent nine months in a Spanish immersion class in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Nora returned back to the Chico area and spent many years working for both Butte County Office of Education and retired from the Oroville City Elementary School District as a Speech and Language Pathologist, helping children, which gave her deep satisfaction. She was also an advocate and school representative with the Oroville Elementary Teachers Association; and served on the Butte Environmental Council board for several years. Nora was passionate about the great outdoors, spending countless hours kayaking, camping, whale watching, birding, and fishing with her husband, Rob Brunig, not only in the US, but also in New Zealand, Mexico and Belize. Each summer she took her nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephew on adventures in the wild, teaching them how to connect with nature, be brave, and to learn something new to carry forward to teach their children. Nora is survived by her father, Roy Burnham, sisters Nancy (Tom) Boyd, Diane Winter and Margie (Dan) McAuley and her nephews and nieces Aaron (Jeri) Boyd, Colin (Lisa) Boyd, Cynthia Boyd, Kevin (Amy) McAuley and Nora McAuley, great-nieces and nephews Marisa, Tera and Connor Boyd, and Padraig and Brigid McAuley. She was preceded in death by her mother, Joyce Burnham; husband, Rob Brunig; and great-niece Lorelei Lea Marks. A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, October 5th at 12:00, held at The Palms, 2947 Nord Avenue, Chico. To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Nora Eileen Burnham, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.