Beatrice Burns
| Beatrice Burns | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Hawaii | |
|
In office December 3, 1962 – December 2, 1974 |
|
| Governor | John A. Burns |
| Preceded by | Nancy Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Jean Ariyoshi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Beatrice Majors Van Vleet February 20, 1906 Sumpter, Oregon |
| Died | February 28, 1988 (aged 82) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Spouse(s) | John A. Burns (1931–1975; his death) |
| Children | Four |
Beatrice Majors Van Vleet Burns (February 2, 1906 – February 28, 1988) was the First Lady of Hawaii for three terms. Born in Oregon and raised in numerous states, she became a Registered nurse and moved to Hawaii. She met Hawaii's future governor John A. Burns during a picnic at Hanauma Bay, when he was a college student. Together they had four children, one of which was born premature and died when she was struck by poliomyelitis. She never fully recovered from her paralysis, but lived a full life as a wife and mother. During her tenure as the First Lady of Hawaii, she restored the governor's residence of Washington Place.
She was born February 20, 1906, in Sumpter, Oregon to teachers Thomas Stanton Van Fleet and Bessie Majors. The family moved dozens of times throughout California, Oregon, and Nevada.
After training as a Registered nurse (RN) at the San Jose Hospital School of Nursing, she joined the United States Army Nurse Corps, and was assigned to Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, before being transferred to Schofield Barracks on Oahu in 1930.John A. Burns (Jack) was a student at the University of Hawaii, with a night switchboard job at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Their first date was a group picnic at Hanauma Bay. Afterwards they continued dating, eventually deciding to marry. He dropped out of college, and quit the newspaper to take a better-paying job with the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. They married at Schofield Barracks on June 8, 1931.
When the Great Depression affected jobs at the pineapple cannery, the young couple joined her parents working on a farm in Mendocino County, California. They returned to Hawaii in 1932, with Jack working at another cannery, eventually joining the Honolulu Police Department. Their first child John Jr. (Jack Jr.) was born in 1932, followed by sister Mary Beth in 1934.
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