Burnnia Mae Nelson

Born in a home in Suttontown with the help of her midwife grandma, Burnnia Mae Nelson (née Long) was welcomed into this wondrous world on November 12, 1939. A lifelong Haywood County native, she was better known for 31 years as one of Central Elementary Schools’ “lunch ladies”. She was an almost lifelong member of Barbersville Baptist Church and her faith was mighty strong. Her granddaughter Lauren was the apple of her eye and Burnnia and Tommy loved visiting with her in Alaska. They would always argue about “who loved who” more.

She was preceded in death by her husband, local postman James T. (Tommy) Nelson who passed on April 28, 2010. She had two sons, James Ronald (Ron) and David (Dave) Nelson. Her youngest son Ron was a Systems Analyst with IBM and passed at the age of 30 in 1990 from Cystic Fibrosis. Her other son Dave and his wife Emily cared for her in the home until late August when she moved to Autumn Care in Waynesville, where she passed quietly and peacefully on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at the age of 83. The family would like to extend special thanks to all the staff at Autumn Care and Four Seasons Hospice for their excellent and empathic care. Also, a special thanks to Dr. Cohen and all the folks at MemoryCare in Asheville for their excellent care with her dementia.

She was also preceded by her mother Mary Lee Moody (née Sutton) of Haywood County, and her father Hobert Long of the Hickory, NC area. Her grandparents Harrison and Jane Sutton have been long passed.

Her wish was to be cremated and a family memorial will be held at a later time. Her last few years were marred by dementia and chronic pain.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to:

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at 4600 Park Rd, Ste 100, Charlotte, NC 28209 https://www.cff.org/

or

Alzheimer’s Association at 225 North Michigan Ave, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601

https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=51079&51079.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=giving_bing&msclkid=02cf609b02641a6189c604d02f673d26

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.garrettfuneralsandcremations.com for the Nelson family.