Tributes have been paid to a Suffolk businessman, a forward-thinking, larger-than-life character who was inspirational to his colleagues, friends and family alike.
David Burr was a Surrey man, but it was Suffolk where he raised a family and built himself a flourishing career as a chartered surveyor. He established one of the region’s most well-known and respected estate agencies, David Burr Estate Agencies.
David was born in Guildford on May 18, 1955. He attended St Peter’s Roman Catholic Comprehensive, where he met Mary, the girl who was to become his wife.
Mary said that she and David became a couple when they were just 15 and 16, and she can remember watching him dancing on stage at the local youth club.
“He was a real gentleman,” she said. “My first thought when I saw him at school was that he was larger than life.
“Life was always an adventure with him. He had lots of ideas, having an entrepreneurial mind.
“He was very caring and very loyal.
“He could be quite shy, but people didn’t really see that side of him, because they always saw the louder side.”
David and Mary married on October 14, 1978. The following year, they moved to Sudbury, a place David would call home for almost 50 years.
He had graduated from Kingston University in London the previous year and moved to take up a position as a trainee surveyor with Olivers property agents.
Olivers specialised in land and rural property, and David enjoyed his time there immensely, working and learning under his mentor, Ray Emeny. David qualified as a charted surveyor in 1979.
David was keen to experience other aspects of surveying, and after a short time at Olivers he left to take up a role with Greene King as assistant estate manager.
However, in 1985, David was tempted back to Olivers, which he re-joined as a partner. At only 29, he was the youngest partner in the firm by some margin.
Michael Crawford was also a partner at the time. He said: “David was incredibly capable, very skilled at negotiating difficult issues, and even though I was much more experienced I still sought his advice as he had a way of approaching things like no one else in the practice.”
The previous year, David had become a father. His eldest daughter, Alex, was born in 1984. Georgie followed in 1986, and Henriette arrived in 1989, completing the family of five.
The family moved from Lawshall to Hartest while their children were young, and it was there that they made many happy memories.
David went on to become regional director for WH Brown. This involved considerable travel, which continued when David became the senior auctioneer for Barnard Marcus. He was responsible for holding regular auctions in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In 1995, he launched his own business, David Burr Estate Agents, with an office in Long Melford.
In a testament to his reputation, many of David’s previous clients became clients of this new business, which allowed it to flourish and quickly expand. David nurtured the business and the next generation of partners, and the group today has seven regional offices and both lettings and holiday lettings divisions.
Its current director, Steven Ray, worked with David for over 20 years.
He said: “It is impossible to sum up David in a few sentences, he was truly inspirational, in so many ways.
"The company was built on the foundation of client-first and best advice at all times, something he would install in every new member of the team and an ethos that continues today.
"Whilst David had traditional values, he was always forward-thinking and ahead of the competition, he was particularly proud of the company being awarded Investors in People Status in 2000, a status the David Burr group still ascribe to.
"We have been contacted by so many clients, business colleagues, competitors and former colleagues with words of admiration and respect for David. He would have been very touched and ever so slightly embarrassed.”
For all the success of his career, David would refer to his daughters as his greatest achievements. He was delighted to become a grandfather to Alex’s son, Auden, in November last year, and then to Dorothy, Georgie’s daughter, in July.
David died shortly before Christmas after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held on Monday, January 16 at 11.30am at St Edmund's Roman Catholic Church, Westgate Street, Bury St Edmunds.
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