Denee Burns, who served as the chief of staff for Bluebird Self Storage and Sunbird Storage, passed away on Feb. 13 after a two-month battle with anaplastic thyroid cancer. This form of the disease is known for being rare and highly aggressive, according to sources.
Burns worked in the self-storage industry for eight years, holding previous positions with software firms Storage Commander and Tenant Inc. before joining Sunbird in November 2023 and then Bluebird the following October. She also cohosted two industry podcasts, “Clubhouse for Self Storage” and “Storage Stories,” with Jason Koonin, CEO of Bluebird and Sunbird. She was also active in mentoring and coaching as a consultant for her firm, Heartfire Consulting Services, which provided support to the real estate industry as well as the information-technology and nonprofit sectors, sources reported.
“Heaven gained an angel today. Our dear friend Denee Burns went home to be with the Lord. Denee, we miss you already but know you are in a better place, and we will see you again one day,” Sunbird posted on its LinkedIn page.
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A GoFundMe page opened in Burns’ honor has raised more than $21,000. “The funds raised will continue to help cover remaining medical expenses and funeral costs, and any remaining funds will be donated in Denee’s honor to support another single mother in need of life-saving cancer care—something that was deeply important to her heart,” her family posted on the page.
Bluebird is a subsidiary of civil-engineering firm Budget Development Partners. It operates more than 30 self-storage locations across Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, Canada.
Sunbird operates seven self-storage facilities across North Carolina. It offers climate-controlled and vehicle storage.
Sources:GoFundMe, Honoring Denee’s Journey, Supporting Our FamilyLinkedIn, Sunbird Storage
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