1928
Wilma
2015
Wilma Lee Webb Burns
September 20, 1928 — October 29, 2015
Harlingen:
Wilma Burns, an always beautiful and gracious lady, was delivered sweetly into the arms of Jesus on Thursday night, October 29, 2015, at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. She was 87 years old. God in His gracious goodness allowed her to live at home until the very end with her beloved husband Frank. In her last 48 hours, Frank and Wilma were surrounded and supported by their loyal and appreciative children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren.
Wilma Lea Webb was born on September 20, 1928 in Corsicana, TX to Albert & Neva Carter Webb, the daughter of a sharecropper. Wilma had two sisters and one brother – Wanda, Willeta and Glenn. The Webbs moved from Corsicana to the Magic Rio Grande Valley in the early 1930s, settling in the Rangerville area where Mr. Webb continued to farm and Mrs. Webb became an LVN. During the great hurricane of 1933, the family’s house flooded and they rode out the storm in a barn.
After a few years the Webb family moved to Primera where Wilma attended and eventually graduated from Wilson Tract School. It was at Wilson School that Wilma met Frank Burns, the son of another farmer. They married at First Baptist Church of Primera on April 16, 1948. At that time Wilma worked for National Biscuit Company and Frank was employed by Interstate Fruit & Vegetable. Soon Frank began farming with his father-in-law in the Primera area. Frank and Wilma’s marriage is 67 years strong, and the farming operation still continues today.
Two sons, Keith & Richard, followed in 1951 and 1952. Wilma dedicated the rest of her life to being a farm wife and mother and raising a beautiful family whose lives were centered around their faith in God, church, honest hard work, good clean fun, family get-togethers, and seasons -- planting season, harvest season, football season, and hunting season. In the early 1960’s Frank began taking cotton pickers to Arkansas to follow the cotton harvest, and thus started another season. Lifelong friends were made in the Hughes, Arkansas, area whom we count as family. This ‘partnership’ continued when the cotton pickers were left behind, and combines took their place as we went in early June for wheat season and then in the fall for soybeans. Wilma loved accompanying Frank, staying in a small mobile home beside the Beene’s house, continuing to cook and take meals to the field just like she did at home during grain, corn and cotton harvests.
Wilma and Frank’s home was a favorite among their many nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. Living in the country near canals, drainage ditches, railroad tracks, around barns, fields, tractors and farm equipment presented opportunities for fun and mayhem. Our gifts include many great stories and memories which continue to develop today.
In 1975 the grandkids started coming so Wilma turned into “Granny,” the favorite phase of her life to this point. Andy, Levi, D’Anne, Carly and Tyler loved spending days and nights at Granny’s, drinking her famous sweet tea. Always ready and waiting in pitchers in the refrigerator, that sweet tea was a magnet for Frank, the boys, the grandkids, and any others who needed a break from the heat. Granny fed her crew on most weekdays for the noon meal but never on Fridays! That was when she went to town and got her hair done – always – and bought groceries. By far, her family’s favorite meal was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrot salad, fried okra, and her renowned corn. Every spring, Wilma spent a few days cutting garden-fresh sweet corn off the cob and putting it away in her big chest freezer. The way she fixed it on the stove for the rest of the year can probably not be replicated. It was always a sad day when the last bag of corn was gone from the freezer.
As the grandkids grew, the farm headquarters became a popular destination for many teenagers who are now fine young men and women raising their own children. They have vivid memories of those days at Granny’s house, and she loved every single one of those kids. Annual Christmas tree bonfires, “The Shack,” homemade videos, mischief and chaos, and who knows how many things we’ll never know and don’t want to know. By the grace of God ambulances were never needed.
Wilma had experienced rheumatic fever as a child, so as an adult she had what doctors called “a rheumatic heart.” In the mid 1960’s she went to Houston where Dr. Denton Cooley performed what was then a pioneering open-heart operation. Over her lifetime, two more serious heart surgeries were required. How grateful we are for the excellent care she received which granted her a long life.
Wilma and Frank were very active in the Baptist Church throughout their whole lives, up until the last few years when Wilma’s declining health prevented it. Loving, dedicated caregivers and sisters Maria Gomez and Martha Martinez have been indispensable to the Burns Family for the last four years.
Preceding Wilma in death were her parents, three siblings, stillborn grandson Toby, granddaughter D’Anne, and stillborn great grandson Heath. She is survived by her husband Frank who was the most loving, solid, attentive husband she could have ever imagined; son Keith and his wife Cora Lea; son Rick and his wife Lolly; grandchildren Andy Burns and his wife Jennifer; Levi Burns and his wife Brooke; Carly Thomas and her husband Steve; and Tyler Burns and his wife Ashton, along with precious great-grandchildren Caden, Pike, Ashlynn, Beau, Brooklynn, Ty, Cullen and Berkley. Wilma also thought of Glenda Beene Pearson as an adopted daughter. Many nieces and nephews and other special people will miss Granny but have wonderful memories to last their lifetimes.
Visitation with the family will take place on Sunday, November 1, 2015, from 4- 6 pm at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home, 710 N. Ed Carey Drive, Harlingen. A celebration of Wilma’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2, 2015, at Calvary Baptist Church, 1815 N. 7th Street in Harlingen, with a private burial to follow at Mont Meta Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Calvary Christian School at 1815 N. 7th Street, Harlingen, TX 78550 or to the D’Anne Burns Memorial Scholarship at UMHB, Box 8433, 900 College St., Belton, TX 76513-2599.
Wilma Burns, an always beautiful and gracious lady, was delivered sweetly into the arms of Jesus on Thursday night, October 29, 2015, at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. She was 87 years old. God in His gracious goodness allowed her to live at home until the very end with her beloved husband Frank. In her last 48 hours, Frank and Wilma were surrounded and supported by their loyal and appreciative children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren.
Wilma Lea Webb was born on September 20, 1928 in Corsicana, TX to Albert & Neva Carter Webb, the daughter of a sharecropper. Wilma had two sisters and one brother – Wanda, Willeta and Glenn. The Webbs moved from Corsicana to the Magic Rio Grande Valley in the early 1930s, settling in the Rangerville area where Mr. Webb continued to farm and Mrs. Webb became an LVN. During the great hurricane of 1933, the family’s house flooded and they rode out the storm in a barn.
After a few years the Webb family moved to Primera where Wilma attended and eventually graduated from Wilson Tract School. It was at Wilson School that Wilma met Frank Burns, the son of another farmer. They married at First Baptist Church of Primera on April 16, 1948. At that time Wilma worked for National Biscuit Company and Frank was employed by Interstate Fruit & Vegetable. Soon Frank began farming with his father-in-law in the Primera area. Frank and Wilma’s marriage is 67 years strong, and the farming operation still continues today.
Two sons, Keith & Richard, followed in 1951 and 1952. Wilma dedicated the rest of her life to being a farm wife and mother and raising a beautiful family whose lives were centered around their faith in God, church, honest hard work, good clean fun, family get-togethers, and seasons -- planting season, harvest season, football season, and hunting season. In the early 1960’s Frank began taking cotton pickers to Arkansas to follow the cotton harvest, and thus started another season. Lifelong friends were made in the Hughes, Arkansas, area whom we count as family. This ‘partnership’ continued when the cotton pickers were left behind, and combines took their place as we went in early June for wheat season and then in the fall for soybeans. Wilma loved accompanying Frank, staying in a small mobile home beside the Beene’s house, continuing to cook and take meals to the field just like she did at home during grain, corn and cotton harvests.
Wilma and Frank’s home was a favorite among their many nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. Living in the country near canals, drainage ditches, railroad tracks, around barns, fields, tractors and farm equipment presented opportunities for fun and mayhem. Our gifts include many great stories and memories which continue to develop today.
In 1975 the grandkids started coming so Wilma turned into “Granny,” the favorite phase of her life to this point. Andy, Levi, D’Anne, Carly and Tyler loved spending days and nights at Granny’s, drinking her famous sweet tea. Always ready and waiting in pitchers in the refrigerator, that sweet tea was a magnet for Frank, the boys, the grandkids, and any others who needed a break from the heat. Granny fed her crew on most weekdays for the noon meal but never on Fridays! That was when she went to town and got her hair done – always – and bought groceries. By far, her family’s favorite meal was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrot salad, fried okra, and her renowned corn. Every spring, Wilma spent a few days cutting garden-fresh sweet corn off the cob and putting it away in her big chest freezer. The way she fixed it on the stove for the rest of the year can probably not be replicated. It was always a sad day when the last bag of corn was gone from the freezer.
As the grandkids grew, the farm headquarters became a popular destination for many teenagers who are now fine young men and women raising their own children. They have vivid memories of those days at Granny’s house, and she loved every single one of those kids. Annual Christmas tree bonfires, “The Shack,” homemade videos, mischief and chaos, and who knows how many things we’ll never know and don’t want to know. By the grace of God ambulances were never needed.
Wilma had experienced rheumatic fever as a child, so as an adult she had what doctors called “a rheumatic heart.” In the mid 1960’s she went to Houston where Dr. Denton Cooley performed what was then a pioneering open-heart operation. Over her lifetime, two more serious heart surgeries were required. How grateful we are for the excellent care she received which granted her a long life.
Wilma and Frank were very active in the Baptist Church throughout their whole lives, up until the last few years when Wilma’s declining health prevented it. Loving, dedicated caregivers and sisters Maria Gomez and Martha Martinez have been indispensable to the Burns Family for the last four years.
Preceding Wilma in death were her parents, three siblings, stillborn grandson Toby, granddaughter D’Anne, and stillborn great grandson Heath. She is survived by her husband Frank who was the most loving, solid, attentive husband she could have ever imagined; son Keith and his wife Cora Lea; son Rick and his wife Lolly; grandchildren Andy Burns and his wife Jennifer; Levi Burns and his wife Brooke; Carly Thomas and her husband Steve; and Tyler Burns and his wife Ashton, along with precious great-grandchildren Caden, Pike, Ashlynn, Beau, Brooklynn, Ty, Cullen and Berkley. Wilma also thought of Glenda Beene Pearson as an adopted daughter. Many nieces and nephews and other special people will miss Granny but have wonderful memories to last their lifetimes.
Visitation with the family will take place on Sunday, November 1, 2015, from 4- 6 pm at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home, 710 N. Ed Carey Drive, Harlingen. A celebration of Wilma’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2, 2015, at Calvary Baptist Church, 1815 N. 7th Street in Harlingen, with a private burial to follow at Mont Meta Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Calvary Christian School at 1815 N. 7th Street, Harlingen, TX 78550 or to the D’Anne Burns Memorial Scholarship at UMHB, Box 8433, 900 College St., Belton, TX 76513-2599.
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