The Shadow
Ira Thomas “Tommy” Burns opened Burns Auto Repair in Hot Springs, Va. in 1984 after taking a voluntary layoff from the union he belonged to as a miner.
Roy Burns and his older brother, Shelton, reopened Burns Auto Repair in 2005 after their father was forced to close the business in 1992 to go back into mining in order to save his pension.
Roy remembered, “The business sat dormant all of those years, and it was Shelton’s idea to start up the business again.”
Both Roy and Shelton are active in their community, and both serve as members of the Bath County Board of Supervisors. Roy serves as the chairman of the board.
Tommy worked with his sons at Burns Auto Repair until he passed away in January.
Roy was born in Bath County but raised in Huntington, Ind. following Edna Carol Ailstock Burns’ divorce from his father. Arriving in Ind. as an infant, he returned to Bath County after graduating from North Huntington High School in 1991.
Before returning to Bath County, he earned his associate’s degree in applied sciences and business management from Lincoln Technical Institute in Indianapolis.
Roy recalled, “I really worked hard at it, and I finished the two-year program in 11 months.”
He married Sarah Ann Sheets who graduated with him from NHHS.
“I spent my summers in Bath County, but I went to school in Huntington,” Roy noted.
Looking forward, Roy offered, “Shelton and I have the goal of leaving the shop to our kids.”
He continued, “Once Shelton and I opened up the shop, my two oldest sons, Zack and Austin, became technicians there.”
As for Roy’s youngest son, he said, “My youngest son, Noah Jacob, is a welder, and he doesn’t work in the shop.”
A thunderstorm swept across Virginia on June 17 and left a wake of damage in its path. Roy noted, “We only had one vehicle that was severely damaged by the storm, but the wind snapped two power poles and a lot of trees near our business.”
While the COVID-19 impact on businesses across the country was severe in many cases, Roy revealed, “COVID-19 really wasn’t a challenge for us.”
He explained that with all of the relief money that the government distributed that people had funds to fix their cars.
He remarked, “We never slowed down, and I believe that (relief funds) are why.”
Reminiscing about his father, Roy recalled, “Dad worked as a miner in 27 states, mining just about everything from coal to silver to salt and limestone.”
Shelton was born in 1971, and Roy was born in 1973. The brothers have three sisters, Teresa Lynn McClellan, who lives in Fla.; Rachel Louise Wust, who resides in Mich.; and Nancy Crummett, of Hot Springs.
They also have an adopted brother, Mathew Strickler, who lives in Ind.
Looking back, Roy said, “Sarah and I were married on July 18, 1992.”
Roy and Sarah have three sons: Zachery Taylor Burns, 29; Austin Lee Burns, 27; and Noah Jacob Burns, 24.
Zachery married Gracie Neutelings of Hot Springs, and the couple has Everly Rose, four; Oliver Wyatt, two; and Journey Renee, one.
Austin married Gracie Clark, and their children are Charlotte Ruth, four; Selah Nadine, two; and Samuel Holden, one.
Noah married Rebeka Blake of Hot Springs, and their children are Dawson Cole, four; and August Wilder, a newborn.
Roy and Shelton set up their accounting system and point of sale for Burns Auto Repair, and they keep copious records.
Both brothers were recently named Trade Persons of the Year by the Bath County Chamber of Commerce.
Roy said, “Our business is 100% Christian based, and we pray together each morning before work.”
“We started with invoice No. 1 when we opened our business, and we just passed 30,000 invoices this year,” Roy concluded.
Roy and Shelton continue to base their business on faith, family, and dependable auto and truck repairs at the facility that their father established at 112 Burns Lane in Hot Springs 38 years ago.
