Obituary of Robert L. Burnside

Robert L. Burnside "Coach" age 74, was born July 5, 1942 and died July 10, 2016. He graduated from North Collins High School in 1959 and from UB in 1964. Robert taught Math at both Eden Middle and Eden Sr. High School for 35 years starting in 1964-65. Retired 2000. He was the Varsity Baseball Coach for 45 years and amassed over 400 victories throughout his career and is a nominee for Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He also was the girls Basketball coach for 17 years. The Eden Baseball Field dedicated in his name in 2015. Besides being a math teacher for 38 years with Eden Central Schools, Robert coached girls’ basketball and baseball for many years. It was in baseball that “Coach” was known for his innovative coaching ideas and his constant pursuit of perfection, both for himself and his players. Coach Burnside was a lifelong student of the game, annually attending the “Be the Best You Can Be” baseball conference and bringing back valuable insights for the Eden program. Robert was head of the Eden program for 33 years, leading his teams to an overall record of 414 wins and 242 losses while capturing seventeen Erie County Interscholastic Conference titles and two sectional titles. In 2003, Coach Burnside turned the program over to former player and assistant coach Eric Cooper, but remained on for the next 12 years as a mentor, associate coach, generous financial contributor and staunch supporter. His passion and dedication to Eden Athletics were the impetus for Eden Central’s Athletic Department to rename their service award the “Robert Burnside Dedication Award” and in 2015 to honor Robert’s 47 years of coaching baseball by naming the varsity baseball complex “Burnside Field.” In addition to his duties as the Raiders head coach, Mr. Burnside also umpired for many years and coached teams in the former Quad-County Baseball Association, the County of Erie Baseball Association, and The American Legion Baseball League and he was a long-time statistician for the Eden Raider football program. Coach battled many illnesses throughout his life until died of cancer. He was the son of the late LeRoy and Ruth Burnside; Survived by sister Donna (Herbert) Rapp and uncle of Diane (Michael) Burkard) and Mark (Katherine) Rapp; great uncle of Emma, Spencer, and Hope Burkard and William, Mark, and Casey Rapp; also survived by many, many friends and colleagues. Flowers gratefully declined; memorials may be made to Eden Baseball Club, M and T Bank, 600 South Park Avenue, Hamburg, NY 14075 Family invites friends to call Friday from 3pm-7pm at the Laing Funeral Home Inc. 2724 W. Church St. Eden Funeral service will be held Saturday at 10:00AM in the Eden Methodist Church, 2820 E. Church St. Eden. Words of sympathy on www.LaingFuneralHome.com