This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Burton Rodney Person passed away peacefully at the age of 98 in Chester on Nov. 9. He was born on Sept. 14, 1920, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He earned a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1941, and later pursued graduate studies at MIT and Tufts University. During World War II, as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, he served as dry dock officer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, where he supervised repairs to naval ships damaged by the Pearl Harbor attack. As dry dock officer at Boston Naval Shipyard, he met his future wife, Mary Ada Regan of Boston. He went on to work as a civil engineer for Esso in Everett, Massachusetts. Later, at General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, he served as chief engineer for the design and construction of the reactor compartment of the Navy’s nuclear-powered Trident Class submarines.

He and his family resided in Ivoryton from 1963 to 1985, when he retired from General Dynamics and moved to a new home he designed and built in Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod. He was expert in furniture making and restoration, woodworking, and clock repair. He tirelessly researched and updated both the Person and Regan family trees. His hands were never idle as he immersed himself in his many projects, while eagerly accepting new ones requested by friends and family. In all he did, he was proficient and exacting, while deeply modest and generous, traits that made him loved and admired by all who knew him.

Preceding Burt in death were his wife of 54 years, Ada; brothers Gerald (Bea), Stanley (Peggy); and sister Florence Brown (Carl). Cherishing his memory are his brother Glen (Beverly) of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; sons David (Ann) of Madison, Stephen of Washington, D.C., and John (Diane) of Metairie, Louisiana; seven grandchildren; and sixteen great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 1 at Our Lady of Victory Church, 230 S. Main St., Centerville, Massachusetts. Burial will follow at Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery, Pine Street, Centerville, Massachusetts, followed by a reception at Alberto’s Ristorante, 360 Main St., Hyannis, Massachusetts. Flowers may be sent to Doane Beal & Ames Funeral Home, 160 West Main St., Hyannis, MA 02601. To leave a message of condolence online, please visit www.doanebealames.com.