René A. Burdet

BELGRADE – René A. Burdet, 98, died peacefully at home in the arms of his loving wife, Katharina, on April 24, 2025.

René was born on March 29, 1927 in Lake Placid, N.Y. to parents, William Burdet and Ruby Burdet-Sissons. His father was from Switzerland and Holland (the Netherlands) and his mother from Canada, so they moved frequently when he was young. René attended many primary and secondary schools in Scotland, Switzerland, Holland and Canada before returning to Lake Placid, N.Y. during high school.

The most defining moment of his childhood came at 13, when he and his family had to flee their home in Holland after Nazi Germany invaded in 1940. He always recalled the harrowing night the bombing started. They had many near-death experiences during their attempts to escape back to North America, which took many months.

At 17 years old (1944), René joined the U.S. Navy in order to help with the war effort. There, he found his great love of aviation. He was an avid private pilot for the rest of his life and spent many happy hours soaring through the sky and “buzzing” friends’ and neighbors’ houses in his beloved 1957 Tri-Pacer airplane.

René held many jobs and mastered many occupations throughout his life. He sold cars for General Motors in the 1950s, he founded and operated his own residential building and design company, Burdet Built, in Connecticut through the 1960s and early 1970s, which segued into real estate development and large-scale project management in the 1980s and 1990s in Maine. He finally retired in 2001 at the age of 74.

René had many passions and hobbies in addition to flying. He was a voracious skier and a proud member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America for over 50 years. He even founded The Burdet Ski School in Connecticut in the 1960s. He very much loved teaching others the finer points of skiing and watching them learn to enjoy the mountains and ski culture as much as he did. Nobody loved an apres-ski “Safety Meeting” more than René!

René was also an avid wood-worker, designer and builder right up until he died. He spent much of his spare time working in his woodshop on various passion projects, gifts, children’s toys and furniture, boats, home improvement projects and anything else he could think of. He was always problem-solving and tinkering in his head and in his shop. This was a hobby he loved sharing with others in his life, teaching his children/grandchildren and collaborating with other craftsmen whenever possible.

René was always very passionate about volunteerism and giving back to his community. He was a dedicated member of Rotary Club International for over 60 years, volunteering thousands of hours to many local causes. Perhaps his very favorite volunteer position was with the Maine Adaptive Ski Program at Sunday River and Sugarloaf Ski Areas, where his unique skill-set led him to teach blind and visually-impaired students how to ski. He also volunteered with various building committees, public trail committees, recycling committees and youth organizations throughout his life.

René valued his family and friends above all else and is lovingly survived by his wife of 50 years, Katharina Burdet; his four children and their spouses, William and Ann Burdet, René André and Janet Burdet, Toby Burdet and Melanie Morin, and Simone Burdet and Tobey Moulton; his nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be planned in the near future.

More information and pictures remembering Rene’s life can be found online at http://www.directcremationofmaine.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in René Burdet’s honor to Maine Adaptive Sports

and Recreation

(maineadaptive.org).

René A. Burdet