COLLEGE STATION (KFDX/KJTL) — A former member of the Wichita Falls community who served as a City Councilor for District 4 from 1998 until his third consecutive term expired in 2004 has died.

John Alan “Johnny” Burns, 65, of College Station, died on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, after a long battle with myelofibrosis.

Burns was known as a jokester and prankster during his time on the Wichita Falls City Council, where he served as District 4’s councilor from 1998 until reaching his three-term limit in 2004. According to his family, he continued his jokes and pranks in spite of his illness.

As a Wichita Falls City Councilor, he was a strong advocate for the completion of all three phases of the Multipurpose Event Center, or MPEC.

During his final meeting as a member of the Wichita Falls City Council, Burns joked, “They say councilors are like fish, you keep them around too long, they start to smell.” Accordingly, his parting gift was indeed a ziplock bag containing a fish.

Burns was the general manager of Lamar Advertising. After spending almost two decades in Wichita Falls, he moved to College Station near his hometown of Bryan to be near his beloved Texas A&M Aggies, and to head the Lamar Advertising office there.

Funeral services for Burns are set for Saturday, May 20, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station.