In May, the Internet Law Center announced a somewhat bittersweet milestone — our first retirement. “After fifteen years of helping this firm as a legal assistant with a specialty in trademark filings, Raun MacKinnon Burnham has taken her final bow.”
Sadly, Raun’s retirement was cut short by a terminal diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancer this past summer. She died on October 6th.
According to SevenReflections.com, the name Raun means: “You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented, energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.” That certainly describes Raun.
A native of greater Philadelphia, she spent her younger years traveling and performing as a folk singer, folk-rock singer, and, ultimately, as a singer-songwriter. During this time, she toured with concert groups, played college and university concerts, and toured in small clubs, as well as doing studio work.
An insatiable creator, Raun was an accomplished singer, songwriter, composer, and author. Known for her clear voice, engaging performances, and skilled finger-style guitar playing, she performed as a folk singer at many clubs, colleges, universities and folk festivals throughout the East Coast in the 60s and 70s. She released several albums over the decades, from her first “American Folk Songs” in 1963 to her 2012 chorale composition “Pocket Mass.” Her legacy and impact on generations of musicians will live on.
A promotion for a 2011 show Raun did in Michigan stated: “Raun has worked with John Prince, Steve Godman, Michael Johnson, Chubby Checker, Jane Olivor, Hall & Oates, The Mamas & the Papas, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Jerry Jeff Walker [and] Yes. Raun MacKinnon is a living legend.”
An incredible storyteller, Raun was the author of several novels and short stories and the proud keeper of her family’s lore, heirlooms, and recipes.
She met her husband Jerry, also a musician, in New York City, New York in 1970 and they toured together for the first six years of their marriage. They relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1988 where she began her 30-plus-year career in the legal industry working at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher before transitioning to the tech sector where she worked with online gaming studio Meteor Games and then joined ILC in 2009.
In 2013, she and Jerry moved to Kingston, Washington, a small town across the Puget Sound from Seattle, in 2013, where she was a member of Amabile Choir and the Bainbridge Chorale.
She was a great help to this firm as it grew, handling a variety of projects with diligence, patience, and grace – especially with trademark filings. In addition, during the inaugural season of Cyber Law and Business Report, Raun was our first guest to appear to explain her use of the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to fund her “Pocket Mass,” CD, which was a musical mass for chorus and light instrumentation.
Our condolences to Jerry, her loving husband of 52 years.