Bernice Hall Burum Graduate Fellowship

Bernice “Bunny” H. Burum was born into the Hall family on May 18, 1921, in Pueblo, Colo. The family moved to Austin in 1932 and began a close relationship with The University of Texas at Austin. Bunny’s father, Dr. C.W. Hall, taught Bible classes at the Methodist Church across from the UT campus for college credit, and each of his four children graduated from the university. Ida May Hall earned a BA with honors in 1937; Bunny earned a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1941; C. Frank Hall earned a BA in 1945; Suzanne Hall earned a BA with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa in 1951.

Bunny graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1938, then entered UT. She was a well-liked leader who directed neighborhood plays as a child and became chairwoman of her high school paper, the Crimson. Along with her many accomplishments, she became one of the first women to become a civilian personnel director for the U.S. Navy. Bunny retired from that position at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe.

 Bernice “Bunny” Burum

Always thoughtful, good-natured, and competent, Bunny majored in Plan II and highly valued a liberal arts education. She loved her prized cocker spaniels, which won awards at various dog shows throughout Oahu.

Though Bunny was thoroughly Texan, she moved to Hawaii several years after graduating from the university and lived there the rest of her life. In an excerpt from a letter to her family written soon after she moved to the island of Oahu, she spoke of her love for Hawaii as well as her own spirit and true nature:

“I’ve never seen anything like the beautiful aqua-blue ocean, huge poinsettias everywhere, and hibiscus blooms of all colors. The constant warmth and sunshine is something I could never get enough of. My insatiable curiosity would never have been relieved in Texas. The newness of it all, the unceasing activities, the gay spirit, the beauty of the Islands — these things make me feel intensely alive.”

Bunny Burum died March 17, 2010.