Bob Burley read the New York Times nearly every day of his adult life and would have appreciated us starting in Times style:
Robert A. “Bob” Burley, a longtime resident of Waitsfield, Vt., who started his brilliant 60-year architectural career working with Eero Saarinen on the St. Louis Arch, left his imprint on iconic landmarks in Vermont and beyond. His dedication to historic preservation, natural site design and client collaboration earned him a national reputation. He died at his home in Shelburne on September 23, 2026, his daughter, Jill, at his side. He was 98.
Born on December 11, 1927, to Alan and Mildred Burley, Bob grew up in Kenmore, N.Y., a planned community north of Buffalo. His natural talents for drawing, problem-solving, and both creative and practical thinking carried him through a successful career and a fulfilling life. His confident yet humble nature was always friendly and positive. Bob rarely said “no”; rather, he would persist to find the best solution, often an innovation rather than a compromise.
He earned a bachelor of fine arts from Columbia College in 1950 and a bachelor of architecture from Columbia University in 1953. His gift for architecture was recognized early; he received six major awards upon graduation, including a fellowship and stipend to travel through Europe for a year. Bob married Pat, whom he had dated through college, following graduation, beginning their lifelong collaboration in adventure, work and family.
His fellowship took them through Europe, the Middle East and into Egypt. Their adventures were many, including driving their two-seater Porsche convertible through the desert along the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings. Imagine: no cellphones or internet, no road maps, few gas stations; just good sense, good luck, and Bob’s easy way with people, even in other languages and cultures.
On return to the U.S., Bob began his career with Eero Saarinen and Associates, at the height of its influence on architecture and design internationally. Bob later said the seven years he spent under Saarinen’s mentorship were key to his perspective and method. It was there he learned to listen to and analyze a client’s needs before beginning a design.
While at Saarinen’s office, Bob led the design team for construction of the new U.S. Embassy in London, moving there for a year with his young family. When they returned to the U.S., Bob led the design team for the St. Louis Gateway Arch, charged with ensuring every detail of a beautiful and complicated structure.
While still in school, Bob had organized some of the first weekend ski trips by bus from New York City to Vermont, where both he and Pat had skied earlier as members of a Buffalo ski club. With a connection to the Mad River Valley, Bob and Pat built a ski chalet on Bragg Hill, commuting on weekends from New Haven and then Manhattan to ski and vacation, always with their eyes on settling there. They moved to Fayston in 1964 and started Robert Burley Associates (later the Burley Partnership), joined by friend and fellow architect Malcolm Appleton. Pat was an integral part of the business from the start.
Bob’s impact on Vermont’s built and natural environments was profound, prolonged and widespread. From the historic Number Nine Schoolhouse on Route 17 in Fayston, he helped shape the look of the state from the 1960s well into the current century.
Bob’s firm was selected in the mid-1960s to create a master plan for the Capitol Complex in Montpelier, a task he stayed with for more than two decades and that included designs for the historic Pavilion Hotel and a modern yet seamless addition to the Vermont Statehouse. Bob was forward thinking and masterful at attaining consensus; the results were routinely lauded as exemplary historic preservation for new uses.
In 1985, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus dubbed Bob “Vermont’s Master Architect,” citing his work on the capitol as well as the new Trapp Family Lodge, Maple Tree Place, the addition to the UVM Library, expansion of the Woodstock Inn, Timberlane Medical Building and many award-winning residences from Maine to Florida. He was a potent force in the discussions that led to both Act 250 and Vermont’s prohibition on billboards and worked on other statewide initiatives such as Vermont’s Scenic Byways and the 1976 Bicentennial Steam Train.
Bob had high-profile and successful national assignments and awards in historic preservation. He was a long-term member of the advisory panel guiding the restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Retreat in Virginia. He was the executive director of the Taliesin Preservation Commission, a four-year commitment to begin the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Spring Green, Wisc., a National Historic Landmark. He led the American Institute of Architects (AIA) task force to preserve the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. His clever reuse of two cow barns into a library at Colby-Sawyer College earned awards from both the AIA and the American Library Association.
Even as he saw the economic benefits of historic preservation, he was not bound by that as a mandate. He designed award-winning modernist buildings and was as familiar and versatile with that vernacular as he was with others.
Bob did not have a signature “Burley” look. Rather, his work process was characterized by a deep understanding of a client’s needs and budget, the site, and the context. He put functionality before aesthetics, which resulted in excellent designs that exceeded client expectations.
He was named a Fellow of the AIA in 1979, a rare distinction offered for exceptional contributions to the profession. Bob served two terms as president of the Vermont chapter of the AIA; Mad River Valley residents may remember his personalized “AIA” license plate from those years.
Bob was committed to public service, offering his time to initiatives that he thought would help his town, state or country have a more hospitable environment. Whether it was service on Vermont’s Committee for Scenery Preservation, the Waitsfield Historical Society or the many other public dialogues he engaged in, he was a leader and an advocate. Many saw him as a mentor.
Bob’s passions extended beyond architecture. He was a dedicated Mad River Glen skier well into his eighties. He was a sailor for as many years, learning as a youngster on Lake Erie. The family graduated from a 17-foot fiberglass daysailer to a 44-foot 1939 classic wooden sloop! Together, Bob and Pat were fearless in their endeavors. In their late seventies, as a segue to retirement, the couple bought a 45-foot trawler and headed south down the Intercoastal Waterway — Pat at the helm, Bob on deck, Skipper their cat sleeping in the fo’c’sle.
He was an avid reader of the New York Times, a habit he developed as a young man. Well into his nineties, he would drive 40 miles round trip to get his newspaper. His daughter used that as enticement to move closer to her: “You can have the Times delivered to your door every morning, Dad!”
Leaving his home and friends in the Mad River Valley was eased by all the friends that Bob quickly made at the Residence at Shelburne Bay. He will be missed by many in Shelburne, the Valley, the architectural community, and others far and wide, for his interest, his gentleness of spirit, and his passion for his work and life. To the end, he offered to all a compliment, a word of encouragement, a funny line and a beaming smile.
He was predeceased by his dear wife of 70 years, Pat; his beloved son, Todd; and his brother, Elliott. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Jill, and her spouse, Elizabeth; and nieces, nephews, extended family and many friends.
There will be a memorial event to honor Bob’s life on Saturday, October 24, 2026, 2 p.m., at the Mad River Glen Basebox. All are welcome. Please bring memories and stories to share.
This article appears in October 14 • 2026.