Burnette Blakely
9/3/1942 – 2/11/2019

 We still miss CPA leader and friend Burnette Blakeley, who passed away unexpectedly on February 11, 2019. He is survived by his wife, Tricia, and two daughters, Dara and Kim.
 With the exception of Bobbi Hopp, no one did more to lead, grow and enhance Cary Photographic Artists. His quiet presence and powerful influence were instrumental in shaping our organization over the course of many years. There was literally nothing he wouldn’t do to support CPA, from serving five years as vice-president, coordinating with the Town of Cary on matters large and small, performing really essential tasks like getting the beer and wine permits for our socials in The Cary theater, and helping haul the audiovisual equipment back and forth from Cary Art Center for every meeting. He was critical to the success of the annual juried exhibit and recently helped with the programs committee, even as his health deteriorated. His daughter told me how much he loved the club and that after every meeting he’d tell her about the program, who presented, who was there and how much he got from it.

We certainly won’t forget his diagrams and charts—he could and did create diagrams to explain everything. Upon first viewing, the diagrams would often seem more complicated than our mere mortal minds could grasp. Then, after Burnette patiently guided us through the flow, we would see and understand—we’d be better and smarter.