Burt Stueve passed away on August 13, 2016, the day after his 80th birthday. Burt was suffering from cancer and had recently been hospitalized at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Although not an active singer for a number of years, Burt had been a member of the Alexandria Chapter since 1987 and, among his many other contributions, served as Chapter President in 1999. He was New Note of the Year in 1988 and won three chorus gold medals singing with the Alexandria Harmonizers.
During Burt’s term as President in 1999, the Alexandria Chapter careened toward the Y2K Bug and the 21st Century. The chapter shouldn’t have worried as Burt had a steady hand on the tiller (and the till) as both a leader and a super computer geek in his own right!
1999 was another watershed year for the Harmonizers who were fresh from a fourth International Gold Medal and ready to enjoy “Breathless Moments,” a sparkling record of 50 harmonious years. The number of Harmonizer shows was admirable with two M-AD appearances, two annual chapter shows plus the Community Holiday Song Festival, nine youth and community outreach appearances, and five package shows. Burt personally intervened to assure a venue for a ground-breaking chapter show featuring the blockbuster a cappella vocal group Rockapella – a harbinger of today’s Harmonizer efforts to “look out the window.” The Harmonizers presented six shows surrounding their swan song appearance at the international convention in Anaheim and shared the stage at Disneyland with Dick Van Dyke and the Dapper Dans.
Burt Stueve’s ties to the Harmonizers were very important to him. At no time during his almost 30 years with the chapter could he be considered “inactive.” He still kept moving in many unseen ways to support the communications of the Alexandria Harmonizers that he loved. “Don’t count the days in your life. Just make each day count.” Brother Burt, Sing On.
Burt’s father was cofounder and first president of the Kankakee, IL SPEBSQSA chapter in 1950 or 1951. Burt joined in 1951. During his high school years, his family was a barbershop quartet. Sister Peg sang Lead, Mother was the Tenor, Father was the Bass, and Burt sang Baritone They sang a lot of what now are Barberpole Cat songs. Burt later sang with choruses in Ohio and Colorado for a total credit of nine years by the time he joined the Harmonizers in 1987, sponsored by Jack Shields (who he met in Germany in the early ‘70s). He continued to sing baritone until about 1970 (during his time with the Pikes Peak Chapter), when he switched to Bass.
Burt claimed that performing with the Harmonizers caused his previous barbershop experiences to fade into insignificance (except for the memories of the friendships). It has allowed him to sing on the International Contest stage 7 times, winning medals all 7 times, including 3 gold (’89, ’95, ’98), 1 silver (’92), and 3 bronze (’93, ’01, ’05). Singing in the Sacred Gold Concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (2005) and almost 600 gold medal winning barbershoppers was a marvelous experience for him. The Kennedy Center Honors shows (especially 1987 for Perry Como and 2000 for Angela Lansbury), Carnegie Hall (with Bluegrass Student Union), Supreme Court Historical Society, the various Spring Tonics and Fall Extravaganzas, the chapter’s bus trips (to Erie, PA and Asbury Park, NJ, e.g.), as well as the many package shows (e.g., Elizabeth Taylor’s fragrance promotion at the National Building Museum), Market Square, Fort Ward Park were also among his great memorable experiences!
Burt also served as Chapter Board Member at Large (1989), Program VP (1990), IPP (2000), and Marketing VP (2000-2001).
Once he became somewhat hobbled physically, he stayed involved in Chapter affairs by serving as a Moderator of the three Harmonizer email lists.
Burt’s final assignment on active duty was in support of President Reagan’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, at the conclusion of which (and upon retirement from the Air Force in 1985) he was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. In 1967, he was honored to receive the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service, following his tour in Vietnam.
In barbershopping, he considered serving as Alexandria Chapter President in 1999 ranked near the top. This was a daunting experience for him. In 1999, the Chapter suffered the loss of Harmonizer Heroine Betty Buechler and Heroes Rick Loveland, Tom DeHaven, and Dean Snyder (one of the chapter’s founders) , which was very sad for all. On the bright side, the chapter witnessed the leadership of other heroes of our Chapter and Chorus, among them Scott Werner, Geri Geis, Package Show Producer Ken Fess, and others on the M&P team who made the Anaheim Swan Song week a magnificent experience (UC Long Beach, Disneyland, etc.).
Burt won the Chapter’s New Note of the Year award for 1988, mostly based (he thought) on the fact that he resurrected the chapter bulletin (“Harmogram”). He served as Harmogram editor, coeditor, or backup editor over a 20 year period.
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