Edouard Burnier XXXX-1990
During the night of May 25 to 26, our friend, Professor Edouard Burnier, passed away; he peacefully fell asleep at the Château de la Rive clinic in Lutry. He was in poor health and had to decide several years ago to leave his apartment to be treated in an appropriate institution.
Those who had the privilege of meeting Edouard Burnier, former chair of apologetics at the University of Lausanne's Faculty of Theology, were impressed by his lively and flexible mind, but above all by his willingness to work hard to find a cure for his illness; His interest was immediately focused on the personality and concerns of his interlocutor; one felt taken seriously with one's best interests. These qualities of encouraging and inspiring attention he maintained until the end.
You had to make an appointment in advance to have a moment with him in his sickroom. Friends, colleagues, pastors who had been his students, followed one another at his bedside. So much so that his wife, our friend Madeline, wondered if this procession would not end up affecting his health even more. But these exchanges were his very life.
The last time I went to see him, a few weeks ago, he had a blank in the middle of a line. This had never happened to him before. Somewhat sadly, he remarked that such bouts of weakness would one day put an end to any possibility of conversation. God didn't allow it to be so. As for us, his friends, we take leave of him with emotion and gratitude.
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