Gene Burnett wanted to do a little something special to commemorate his wife Barbara’s 75 years of membership at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 N.H.

What he chose to do measures 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and weighs in at around 180 pounds.

Gene Burnett recently presented Trinity Lutheran Church with a handmade wood relief carving of the Last Supper, in honor of his wife Barbara's 75th year in the church. Barbara and Gene stand near the German carving Tuesday.

Mounted in the west transcript of the church’s sanctuary, Gene Burnett’s gift is a monument to his wife’s steadfastness at Trinity Lutheran and his own enduring attachment to her.

He commissioned a father-and-son team of artisans from Oberammergau, Germany, to create a huge carving made of lindenwood aged for 10 years depicting the Last Supper.

Gene Burnett presented the carving to Trinity Lutheran, in Barbara’s honor, about two months ago.

This was done without fanfare, which is just the way the couple, married for nearly 62 years, wanted it. The Burnetts, both 82, don’t enjoy being the center of attention.

“At one of the church services, they had a dedication for about five minutes. I said, ‘Don’t call us up.’ It was about as low-key as you can get,” Gene Burnett said.

Marilyn Clark, Trinity Lutheran’s director of outreach and volunteer ministries, confirms his recollection of the brief acknowledgement.

“They don’t like to flaunt their gift or anything like that. They didn’t want to come forward. They sat in the back row,” she said.

All that matters to the couple, Gene Burnett said, is that they themselves know who gave the carving to the church, and the reason behind the gift: Barbara Burnett’s connection to Trinity Lutheran, which has lasted since she was about 7 years old.

What’s the nature of that relationship?

“I can tell you,” Gene Burnett said. “She’s done everything but preach. Everything.”

A detail of the carving shows Jesus and his disciples.

Barbara Burnett, a gentle, unassuming woman, says she doesn’t know about that. But she sure likes the wood carving that was acquired in her honor.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she said, smiling.

Acts of generosity

The carving from Oberammergau isn’t the only gift the Burnetts are low-key about. They are, quietly, very philanthropic.

They are the benefactors of the Burnett Burn Unit at Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., which admits about 150 patients each year.

The facility, on the fifth floor of the KU Medical Center Hospital, is one of 127 burn centers in the country and one of only four in the region. The other regional burn centers are in Wichita, Kansas City, Mo., and Columbia, Mo.

The Burnett Burn Unit was established in 1973 with a gift of $600,000 from the Burnetts. They made the donation after they sold their Lawrence-based business, Burnett Instrument Co., a medical instrument company that is now Davol Inc., 700 E. 22nd.

The Burnetts sold their business in 1970 and Gene Burnett retired three years later.

But the couple doesn’t talk much about their acts of giving. That information has to come from those who know them.

“They’re very generous, outgoing and kind people. Every year the church takes Thanksgiving baskets of food to families in Lawrence. Gene and Barbara are always there, filling the baskets,” Clark said.

Famous for craftsmen

Gene Burnett got the idea to commission the wood carving after the couple had taken many trips to Oberammergau, since 1960, to see the Bavarian town’s famous Passion Play.

The play, based on the life of Jesus Christ, is performed during the summer at the start of each decade. The first Passion Play in Oberammergau was in 1634.

The town of about 5,000 people is also famous for its wood carvers, a heritage dating back to the Middle Ages. Today there are about 120 artisans who carve and sell a wide variety of items, from figures of saints to household goods.

As his wife’s 75th anniversary of membership in Trinity Lutheran approached, Gene Burnett decided to honor her by having two German craftsmen create the large wood carving.

A father and son from the Heinzeller family started work on the carving after Christmas last year. The carving took about two months to complete, Gene Burnett said. It is a much larger replica of a Last Supper wood carving that he purchased several years ago, which is now mounted in the church’s chapel.

Gene Burnett had originally intended that first carving to hang in the sanctuary, but the large space made it look too small. So he later asked the Heinzellers to try again, on a bigger scale and this time in his wife’s honor.

“I think it’s beautiful, just what I expected it to be,” he said.