One of Ridgefield’s longest-lived citizens will finally get a fitting remembrance as the family of John Burrow hosts a celebration of life for “Grandpa John” at Abrams Park on Sunday, July 24.
Burrow died on May 28, 2020, less than two months shy of his 105th birthday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Burrow’s family was unable to host a service and celebration for the patriarch at that time.
Following Burrow’s death, Port of Ridgefield Commissioner Joe Melroy eulogized him, celebrating Burrow’s commitment to progress and the notion that “this community was capable of anything.”
“It’s folks like John Burrow who shaped our past and our present, defining what’s become a core value of our community,” Melroy wrote.
Burrow was born on July 5, 1915, on Bachelor Island, a place now within the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
Christina Waterhouse, Burrow’s great-granddaughter, said he was born in the same room of the house as his father, George. George’s father, also named John, came with his parents, George Sr. and Hannah, from England by boat. They eventually made their way to the Pacific Northwest.
The family moved off of the island to Hilltop Farm to the north of town when Burrow was 5, his daughter and Waterhouse’s grandmother Mary Matney said. After he graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1933, Matney said Burrow worked at the Bratlie shingle mill in town until it burned down in the 1940s. Burrow worked at Vancouver’s Kaiser Shipyard during World War II, then worked at lumber mills and eventually made it up to Weyerhaeuser in Longview.
He moved on to drive log trucks for Ben Thomas Inc. in Woodland where he retired in 1977.
Burrow also served as a volunteer firefighter in Ridgefield, Waterhouse said.
Burrow married his high-school sweetheart, Eunice, in 1937, and had three daughters: Matney, Geraldine VanGelder and Judith Lambert. Matney recalls her dad as a fisherman and a baseball player. Baseball was a popular pastime among the agriculturally-focused Ridgefield community at the time. She said Burrow was recruited by the Portland Beavers minor league team, though he already had his three daughters and “baseball players didn’t make much money in those days.”
Burrow’s impact on the city included decades of civil service. He served on the Ridgefield City Council starting at the age of 23. He eventually served as the mayor from 1960 to 1964.
“He always joked that when Ridgefield was much smaller than it is now, everyone took turns being mayor,” Waterhouse said.
Burrow was known for his sharp mind and knowledge of Ridgefield history. In 1984, the Clark County Historical Museum recorded an hour-long interview with Burrow where he discussed some of the earliest families to settle the area. Waterhouse has taken on the mantle of historian from Burrow, something she said she wished she had looked into earlier in her life.
As a child, Waterhouse recalls Matney picking up her and her sister for church in Ridgefield every Sunday, and playing rummy and cribbage with Burrow.
“Grandpa would always have a good story to tell,” Waterhouse said.
With the explosion of growth the city has seen in recent years, Waterhouse said Burrow remained positive on the direction the city was heading.
“I think it was a little mind-blowing for him that so many people wanted to live in Ridgefield, but he definitely didn’t have any negative feelings about it,” Waterhouse said.
Living through the Great Depression, Waterhouse said Burrow was cautious about money. His do-it-yourself attitude persisted throughout his life, as he tackled home improvement jobs well into his later years.
“We couldn’t keep him off ladders,” Matney said.
Burrow continued to drive throughout his later life and drove his “loop” across town, Waterhouse said.
“He was always wanting to know what was going on,” Matney added.
Though the past two years have given closure on Burrow’s passing, having an in-person celebration will help honor the legacy of Ridgefield’s long-lived legend.
“We all felt that it was really something that we really needed to do,” Matney said.
