Dorothy Mae Burns

The funeral service will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, at Christ Church Frederica, with Father Tom Purdy officiating. A private family interment will follow in Christ Church Cemetery.

She was born July 7, 1935, in Columbus, Ohio, to the late Franklin R. and Opal E. McCormick. As a child, Dot was a Daddy's girl; her father, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, instilled in Dot a steadfast, strong sense of service which followed her the rest of her accomplished life.

Dot Burns was a trailblazer, pioneer and key player in the rise to majority status of the Georgia Republican Party. An early Hall County Republican Party chair, she later led the ninth Congressional District GOP, served as First Vice Chair of the state GOP and became a major force in the state. She was elected Republican National Committeewoman, a national delegate to numerous political conventions and elected multiple times as a Presidential elector. Dot was involved in over 100 local, state and federal elections and played leadership roles in the campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Mack Mattingly, Johnny Isakson, Phil Gramm, Herman Cain and Paul Coverdell, who tapped Dot to lead his statewide political committee throughout his tenure in the U.S. Senate. She also served on the Hall County Board of Elections, the board of Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority and Board of Trustees of Lakeview Academy.

A bit of personal history - Dot attended St. Genevieve of the Pines Catholic School in Asheville N.C., and attended Florida State University, where she dated a lot ... and studied not so much! Then, she fortuitously attended The Marymount School of Medical Records in Columbus, Ohio. Upon graduation, she moved to Charleston, S.C. She became a medical records librarian at Old Roper Hospital, where she met Dad and his crew!!!! The rest is a beautiful history!!!

As a member of the Junior League of Gainesville, Ga., Dot recognized a need for the speech and hearing impaired. She learned and taught Braille. This center still remains strong.

Dot was a huge proponent of education, and an extremely proud founding member of Lakeview Academy!!! All four of her children graduated from Lakeview Academy. We were mandated to "hang our own shingle" upon graduation: from medical school, law school, CPA - master's in taxation and interior design.

Dot and James retired over 10 years ago and moved to Marshes Edge. She loved to make people laugh and though unrefined at times, she did a pretty good job. Bringing laughter and joy to others made her most happy!!!!

Survivors include her husband of 60 years, James Roy Burns Jr. MD of St. Simons Island; four children, Frank Burns of Atlanta, Patricia Burns of St. Simons Island, Mary Burns (MD) Tanenblatt and husband Eric of Atlanta and Mark Burns and wife Dani of Gainesville, Ga.; nine grandchildren; and one sister, Betty McGehee of Boynton Beach, Fla.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Hospice of the Golden Isles or Christ Church.

Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home, www.edomillerandsons.com, is entrusted with arrangements