Elinor Comey Burns passed away peacefully on January 30, 2016, at her Shelburne, Vermont, residence. Born in October 1930, she was an early leader in the information technology industry from her start at Computer Control Company (3C) in the early 1960s on the Boston 128 Technology Highway where she wrote code and trained sales staff for some of the earliest minicomputer products.
Later, working with Honeywell and RCA – where she spearheaded the first retail optical checkout scanning technology – Ellie thrived in an emergent digital landscape characterized by challenges often exceeding the capabilities of the nascent technology. She joined Digital Equipment Company (DEC) in 1972 following turns with small tech startups specializing in communications software and information technology for the insurance industry.
At DEC, she pioneered in artificial intelligence and military information systems and was a key player in implementing software licensing throughout the company both in the U.S. and in Europe where she was based out of Switzerland until 1983. She completed her career with DEC working out of New Hampshire in upper level management and later retired to the southern Maine coast in the mid-1990s.
Ellie was an outgoing, engaging individual fond of outdoor pursuits which included horseback riding, sailing, golf and camping at various points in her life. She enjoyed many years in the Mad River Valley of Vermont where she owned a ski house and spent frequent winter days skiing at Sugarbush. Her most joyful summer days were spent on Butler Island on Lake Champlain with her family and her dogs, Buddy and Mariah.
She is survived by Robert and Carla Comey of Carbondale, Colorado; and Paul Comey and Barbara deLima of Warren, Vermont.
A graveside service will be held in the spring at the family plot in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester, Massachusetts, overlooking the peaceful Neponset River where she spent her youthful days swimming and boating.
