After losing his wife of decades, a retired Rhode Island man has found his way back to living life to the fullest by turning other people’s trash into treasure.
John “Jack” Burnett is a familiar face along Norwood Avenue in Warwick, where his front lawn is often filled with bicycles, furniture, tools and other items waiting for a second chance. But behind that ever-changing collection is a story about grief, and about finding a reason to keep going.
Burnett and his wife, Patricia, built their life in the neighborhood after moving there in 1976. He worked as a roofer, then as a high school custodian until he retired in 2020. But around the same time, Patricia became seriously ill.
“She got rushed to the hospital three times. The third time, she passed away,” Burnett recalled. “She seemed like she was getting better but she didn’t. I did the best I could.”
The loss flattened him. “For about a year I just didn’t want to do nothing. Nothing,” he said. Then he went back to what he had always loved doing: fixing things. Driving around Warwick, he started spotting discarded items at the curb and bringing home anything he thought he could repair, sanding and painting and restoring everything from lawn equipment to patio furniture.
A hand-painted sign with his phone number now sits among the goods. The sales top up his fixed income, but Burnett says the money isn’t the point, and he keeps his prices low because he knows families are stretched. Sometimes, if someone truly needs something they can’t afford, he simply gives it away.
Recently a customer who bought a lawnmower from him was so moved that she posted his story on Facebook.
“She told me not to be mad at her, but she went on Facebook and told the whole world about me,” Burnett said with a laugh.
Calls and messages poured in, with people offering scrap metal, donating items, or simply reaching out to cheer him on. What he values most, though, is the same thing that pulled him out of his grief – the people who stop by.
“It’s nice talking to people, meeting different people,” he said. “I wish everybody would be kind to each other. Life is short.”
