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Thomas Burchill III, a business ethics and philanthropy expert, Saint Mary’s University administrator and community member, died suddenly at his Winona home Tuesday night of a presumed heart attack. He was 59.
Burchill was the executive director of the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership at Saint Mary’s, where he taught in the philanthropy and development program and was formerly vice president for university relations. He also spoke nationally on professional ethics.
Legacy of a ‘lighthouse’
When Maggie Modjeski needed advice, she called on Burchill. That’s the kind of guy he was.
Modjeski, the former director of the Winona Community Foundation, worked with Burchill when he was on the board. She said he was known across the country for his philanthropy and ethics expertise and throughout the Winona community for his leadership.
“Everybody knew him,” she said. “He was involved with everything. Everyone’s at a loss.”
Former state Sen. Bob Kierlin, who worked with Burchill on the Winona Golf and Dining board, said Burchill was respected for his leadership.
Brother Louis DeThomasis, acting president of Saint Mary’s, said Burchill was well-liked professionally and personally and was known and respected throughout the Winona area for his community engagement and dedication.
“He wasn’t an emotionally revved up individual — a very calming influence, and he always had good advice,” he said.
Burchill knew how to have fun, too. He played golf and tennis, and rode motorcycles.
Chris Heighway, a manager at the Harley-Davidson Shop of Winona, said she knew Burchill and his wife, who frequented the shop. A customer since 2000, Burchill would come in one day in a business suit, another in leather chaps, Heighway said.
“(He was) definitely not your typical Harley guy,” she said.
Phil Schumacher, executive director of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, was a close friend of Burchill and worked with him on the board of Association of Fundraising Professionals.
“I have lost a very close friend and a confidant…and our profession lost a beacon,” he said. “Tim really was the lighthouse.”
Global and local influence
Burchill is survived by his father, Thomas Burchill II; his wife, Barb; children, Sarah Henrickson and Jesse Burchill; and two grandchildren, Cameron Henrickson, 4, and Carly Henrickson, 1.
Originally from Chicago, Burchill began his career in 1968 as a social studies teacher at Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wis. He went on to teach in Fridley, Minn., and later worked for a year in California. The Saint Mary’s graduate worked at the college since 1979, said communication director Deb Nahrgang.
He was the national director and ethics chair for the Association of Fundraising Professionals and served on several boards, including the Winona Golf and Dining, Winona Area Chamber of Commerce and Winona Community Foundation. He was president and co-founded of the Metanoia Group, an affiliate of St. Mary’s. In 1999, Gov. Jesse Ventura named Burchill to the Minnesota Humanities Commission.
Burchill’s influence has spread locally and globally, said Justin Green, a close friend.
“It’s hard to underestimate … the impact that Tim has had on this world,” he said. “There are not very many people in Winona who have not been affected by Tim because of the work he did with their church or school or civic club or organization in town.”
Paying Respects
A wake for Tim Burchill will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
A luncheon will follow at 1:15 p.m. in the Hiawatha room, 360 Vila St. on the St. Teresa campus.
Burchill will be buried at Saint Mary’s cemetery.
Britt Johnsen can be reached at bjohnsen@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3519.
