Aug. 29, 1949 — Aug. 8, 2025
Born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, on Aug. 29, 1949, Traber went by his middle name in both his personal and his professional life as an actor.
After graduating from Tulane University, he attended and graduated from the American Conservatory Theatre’s Advanced Training Program in San Francisco.
He worked for 35 years as an actor in regional theater, early in his career working in Ashland for two years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, later, the New York and Alabama Shakespeare festivals; The Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, National Theatre in Washington D.C; worked extensively in Florida and the South, including New Stage in Jackson, Mississippi, one of his favorites, and a list of other theaters too extensive to name, moving from theater job to theater job.
He also spent five years working as an actor in Los Angeles, appearing in many television productions, films and commercials, with more than 50 credits on IMDB, including Ulee’s Gold, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, Fall of Hyperion, Dracula’s Widow, Malcolm in the Middle, Grimm, and others.
Traber moved to Ashland, Oregon in 2009. In Ashland he was able to not only coach his son’s Little League, but also narrate hundreds of books for Audible and Blackstone Audio Book companies.
Traber loved to travel, often getting away to the Oregon coast, and most recently enjoyed a long trip to New Zealand.
He loved the birds in his yard and the houseplants he nurtured; enjoyed live Irish music sessions on Sundays, music parties with the Finnegan’s, Tai-chi, yoga, “ecstatic” dance and, several times a week, pickleball.
He passed away from a heart attack playing pickleball in Lithia Park on a beautiful sunny morning, Aug. 8, 2025.
Traber was a loyal friend who was always there for those close to him. Those “chosen family” friends included Robert Taylor and Barbara Cowles, both of Memphis, Tennessee; John Briggs, Pensacola, Florida; and, here in Ashland, Oregon, Jay Leighton and Bruce Jennings, Claudia Everett, Suzanne Seiber and John Leistner.
He is survived by his son, Traber Charles Burns; Laurena Mullins, Ashland; and his sister, Nancy Cecelia Burns, of Fredericksburg, Texas.
Traber was predeceased by his parents, Charles Wilson Burns, Sr., and Elsie Molaison Burns, of Baton Rouge and Plaquemine, Louisiana; and his brothers, Daniel Joseph Burns, of Baton Rouge and Camp Verde, Texas; and Charles Wilson (Chuck) Burns, Jr. of Pensacola, Florida.
Traber will be interred at Mountain View Cemetery, Ashland, at noon Friday, Aug. 15, with a reception following at 2 p.m. at 880 C St., Ashland, Oregon. All are welcome.
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