DAYTON — More than 27,000 University of Dayton students over the last 44 years have learned about marriage from Father Norbert Burns. But that's coming to an end.

Burns, 82, announced Thursday he is teaching the popular "Christian Marriage" course at UD for the last time this semester.

"I was a workaholic for years," Burns said Thursday. "Lately when I come to class, I start the class feeling tired. I told myself that if I ever reached that point I'd call it quits, and I guess that's where I am now."

Burns has been a teacher for 62 years and had never missed a class until a virus kept him away from two sessions earlier this year, he said. His classes take a lot of energy because he runs them like a talk show host, engaging students in wide-ranging discussions about marriage and relationships.

"I tell my students, 'In this class we're friends. I'll be here if you're here, and we can talk about anything,' " Burns said.

Burns graduated from UD in 1945 and was ordained as a Marianist priest in 1953, according to the university. He later earned a doctorate in general counseling at St. Thomas University in Rome and also has studied at Yale University and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Burns joined the faculty at UD 50 years ago and started the Christian marriage class in 1963. He also hosted the call-in radio show "Challenge of Modern-Day Marriage" on the college radio station WVUD for 25 years ending in the mid-1980s.

Burns also has been a marriage counselor. "For a while I was so busy counseling, people had to wait weeks to see me."

Burns said he plans to stay in Dayton, where he's lived all his life. A reception in Burns' honor is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. April 15 in the Torch Lounge at UD's Kennedy Union.

Former students have created an endowment fund in Burns' name to award scholarships primarily to religious studies majors with financial need. For more information, call 229-2901.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2395 or jcummings@DaytonDailyNews.com.