In Memory

Douglas Burnett

Our beloved Flugger pedaled into Heaven in the early morning hours of August 11, 2022. After a fierce battle lasting 3-1/2 years, our exhausted hero was taken from us by metastatic bladder cancer. He leaves behind his heartbroken family: wife Robin, son Chris, daughter-in-law Amie, grandchildren Nathan and Margaux, and brother Bill and sister-in-law Nancy.

Douglas Arthur Burnett was born in Berea, Ohio, on January 8, 1947. He grew up in Center Point, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; and La Mesa (San Diego), California, before embarking to U. C. Santa Barbara and U. C. Berkeley for his undergraduate studies. While he was a teen-ager in San Diego, Doug took up bicycle racing, an activity that brought him lifelong joy. During his teens and early twenties, he raced bicycles throughout the United States and Europe, and he rode on the United States Air Force cycling team in the Olympic Trials in Mexico City.

Upon graduating from U. C. Berkeley, he became a pilot in the United States Air Force, from which he retired, after 21 years, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Sixteen years of flying for United Airlines followed, ending on his 60 birthday.

In the meantime, Doug and Robin moved to Napa, hoping to grow some winegrapes and have some fun. Their efforts were richly rewarded. Through their grapegrowing activities, they met other cycling enthusiasts, and a group of them dubbed themselves "the Clydesdales" and set off on many adventures together over the next two decades. Doug's generous spirit was always evident in his thoughtful planning of many of the rides, and his habitual nurturing of other riders in need of help or encouragement.

He was a bright, brave, multi-talented, fun-loving soul who lit up the room and hugely enriched our lives. We shall miss him more than words can ever express.