Peter Willits Burnside ’52

Peter Willits Burnside ’52 died on August 26, 2022. He was born on July 2, 1930, in Evanston, Illinois, and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. Pete found a calling as a baseball player, earning plenty of success as a left-handed pitcher for New Trier (Winnetka, Illinois) High School. Before college he signed a professional baseball contract but was allowed to attend Dartmouth while playing baseball for the New York Giants organization in the summer months. He earned a degree in sociology and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Pete then served with the U.S. Army while pitching for his base’s team, the Fort Leonard Wood Hilltoppers, which in 1953 won the National Baseball Congress championship. Pete pitched professionally for 10 more years, including eight seasons in Major League Baseball with the Giants, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, and Baltimore Orioles. He concluded his career with two seasons in Japan. Pete and Suzette Herbuveaux wed in January of 1964. Pete then earned a master’s in education from Northwestern University. He taught and coached baseball, basketball, and cross country at New Trier for 25 years. Pete retired from education in 1994 and began spending more time in a familiar place, the Northwoods, where he had owned a cabin since the late 1950s. He is survived by his wife, Suzette; children Beth, Jim, and John; and eight grandchildren.