Ben Roy Burmester

Ben Roy Burmester, the son of Petaluma chicken ranchers who grew up to become one of the world's foremost experts on avian diseases, died Oct. 10 in Petaluma after a long battle with cancer. He was 99.

Burmester's hardscrabble upbringing made him a resourceful, determined young man, traits that served him well as a scientist researching ways to combat tumors in poultry.

“He had a great tenacity,” said his son, Bruce Burmester of Oxnard. “Once he got started on something he didn't give up.”

Born June 13, 1910, Burmester was the fourth of eight children, all of whom worked hard on the family's 5,000-chicken ranch on Western Avenue.

Despite the family's modest means, Burmester worked tirelessly and saved every penny to pay for college. After selling pullets to raise the money for tuition, he began attending U.C. Davis in 1930. He transferred to UC Berkeley to take advanced biology courses.

He remained at Berkeley until he received his doctoral degree, then joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture at its Regional Poultry Research Laboratory in East Lansing Michigan.

He worked at the lab for 35 years, first as a scientist then in his final 10 years as director. Under his leadership, the facility became the preeminent research facility in the world for the study of vaccines used to combat tumors and viruses in poultry.

In addition to numerous professional awards, Burmester received an honorary doctorate from Michigan State University. He served as president of the American Association of Avian Pathologists and the World Veterinary Poultry Association.

He and his wife Alice lived in Lansing, Mich. for 40 years, raising their children to be strong, educated and self-sufficient.

“He was German. That sort of says it all,” said his daughter, Beth Alderman of Petaluma. “He lived by the creed of, ‘Don't do a job unless you can do it well.'"

A man with endless projects, Burmester and his wife built a summer cabin on Bass Lake near Pentwater, Mich., a retreat that remains in the family.

After his wife died in 1997 and he retired in 1980, Burmester moved back to Petaluma where he met his second wife, Zoe. The pair traveled extensively and even attended physics lectures at Sonoma State University. They continued to spend their summers at the cabin.

After they moved in 2002 to Boise, Idaho to be closer to her family, Burmester continued to shovel snow well into his 90s.

Family members attribute his long health life to a combination of genetics and determination. His sister, Molly Smith of Oakland, is 101; sister Doris Nathan of Kalamazoo, Mich., is 92, and brother Robert Burmester, of Pinole, is 90.

He is also survived by his son, Alan Burmester of Midland, Mich., and several step-children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

— Kevin McCallum