Obituary

Michael Avery (“Big Mike”) Burns was born on April 23, 1958, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Hordie Edgar Burns and Sue Carol Burns (nee Dunlap). The first of two boys, Michael attended All Saints Elementary School and eventually Moeller High School, where he played fullback for legendary coach Gerry Faust. Mike received a full scholarship to attend Indiana State University, but returned home before completing his degree after injuring both knees prior to his sophomore year. He became a father in 1980 (to Brooke Marie)  and again in 1988 (to Mychael Williams Simon).

Over the course of his career, Mike worked in sales at clothing stores like House of Adam, Any Old Thing, at car dealerships, for Toys R Us, American Greetings, Donatos, JiffyLube, Faslube and a host of other sales-related positions. Due to his charisma and work ethic, he quickly moved into management positions wherever he worked, often becoming General and Regional Manager of the companies for which he worked.

Mike was the life of the party. If he was in a room you couldn’t miss him, because he had undoubtedly taken up space in the center and was telling jokes and tall tales. He never met a stranger, making friends and new acquaintances in mere minutes. Mike was a lover of fun and good times. He hosted annual Halloween-costume parties and luaus for friends and family. And even after his knee injuries and replacements, he loved to play and coach sports. He played recreational softball throughout his 30’s and 40’s and coached little league t-ball and baseball. He enjoyed sci-fi, Star Trek, watching college basketball at home and watching movies in the theater, usually with a bucket of popcorn and a box of Mike & Ike’s. He loved scaring his kids and being scared at Haunted Houses and the thrill of roller coasters. He’d try his hand at almost anything, from hunting with a bow to selling cigars and trying to teach himself how to play the fiddle. He was imaginative and could make you laugh until you cried – and then laugh some more.

Mike valued family above most other things. As a child, when Hordie and Sue moved into a larger home and he no longer had to share a room with his little brother David, Mike slept on David’s floor, moving closer and closer to his own room, so that his little brother wouldn’t be scared to sleep alone. When his father died, Mike did the same for his mother and spent some nights back at their home on Vicksburg so that she wasn’t afraid in the house alone. He loved being a dad, even when he wasn’t always sure how to do it. When Brooke was little he’d take her to Friendly’s for lime fribbles or an ice cream cone, never really correctly calculating how quickly it would melt on the way home. He helped her get hooked on comic books and fed into her rocket-building addiction over summers in Pittsburg. When Myke was born he was ecstatic to finally have “boy.” He took him to play putt putt and eventually real golf and maintained that one day he’d be good at it. Together they built a  shared love of science fiction, film, and progressive politics. He left his kids a fondness for orange julius and orange creamsicle and endowed them with a bit of his sarcastic bite. He was extremely proud of his grandchildren, bragging to anyone who would listen about their achievements and their efforts.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, Hordie and Sue, and grandparents, Hordie Sr. and Nahlia Burns and Simon and Myrtle Dunlap. He is survived by his children, Brooke Jackson (Matthew), Mychael Burns; his grandchildren, Miles Hudson, Elias Avery, and Olivia-Grace Marie Jackson; his brother David Burns (Kun-suk); nephew Joshua Burns; and a host of cousins and extended family.

Services to honor Michael’s life will be held on Monday, June 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church, located at 20 Desales Ave., Lebanon, Ohio 45036.