- Date Of Birth: August 10, 1936
- Date Of Death: March 3, 2020
- State: Illinois
Rand Burnette was born in Evansville, Indiana, to Mary Francis (Wertz) Rea and Charles Dent Burnette. Here he met his eventual wife of 61 years, Patricia Bauer (Burnette). He majored in History at Wabash College while she majored in English at MacMurray College and they married after graduation on June 14, 1958. He received a Masters Degree in History from the University of Wisconsin and a PhD in History from Indiana University.
After teaching at Carthage College (first on its Illinois campus and then in Wisconsin) Rand took a position teaching history at MacMurray College in 1968 where he remained on the faculty until retirement. He taught a wide range of history courses and had a special interest in the Reformation, Animation history, and Cartography. He taught generations of students American and European history and served as MacMurray’s pre-law advisor for many years, helping students gain admission to some of the best law programs in the country. At MacMurray he was known for his deep scholarly knowledge, his sense of humor, his articulate (and always audible) lectures, and his love of noon-time basketball pick-up games.
Rand was a member of many organizations, including Rotary, the Morgan County Historical Society, the Illinois State Historical Society, Literary Union, and the NAACP. He attended Faith Lutheran Church since first moving to Jacksonville in 1968 and served as President of the Congregation among several other roles there. He remained an active member of the Jacksonville community until his death.
Rand continued to pursue his academic interests after retirement, reading academic publications (especially in cartography), publishing numerous book reviews in scholarly journals, and helping his wife Patricia complete a book on MacMurray founder James F. Jaquess. He was a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction and a loyal fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Rand is survived by his wife, Patricia B. Burnette, three children, Patrick R. Burnette (Joyce), Catherine M. Burnette, and Mark W. Burnette (Kim), two grandchildren, Rand Ralph Burnette and Ryan K. Burnette, three step-grandchildren, Kenny Robinson (Crystal), Keith Robinson, and Kristen Moore (Douglas), three step-great-grandchildren, Brian, Landon, and Jackson, and two brothers, Charles Burnette (Carol) and Johnny Rea (Mardi). His third brother, Jack Burnette (Gayle) predeceased him.
