Ellus B. Burns

Ellus B. “Tinker” Burns, 80, of Columbia, passed away on Friday, August 8, 2025. He was the son of the late Ellus Graham Burns and Nancy Vaughn Burns.

Ellus was a 1963 graduate of Columbia High School and attended the University of South Carolina. He worked as a manufacturer’s representative for electrical supplies, traveling throughout South Carolina for Electric Products Group of Greensboro, North Carolina, for many years. He later retired from CED/Perry-Mann.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Kay Pickell Burns; a daughter, Kimberley Betz (John); a granddaughter, Jordan Hauptner (Jake); two grandsons, Jack Betz and Kalvin Betz; and a great-granddaughter, Cameron Kay Hauptner, all of Columbus, Ohio. He is also survived by three sisters, Patricia Stidom (Tom), Mignonette Hunt (Craig), and Robin Scott, as well as several nieces and nephews. Ellus was predeceased by his sister, Beth Jacobs.

He was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Columbia, SC.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 18, 2025, in the mausoleum chapel of Bush River Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church, 525 St. Andrews Road, Columbia, SC 29210, and/or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Temples-Halloran Funeral Home proudly serves the Burns family in their time of grief.