Barbara Sue Stephenson Burns' Obituary
Barbara Sue Stephenson Burns
Barbara was born in Hope, Arkansas on July 29, 1933 to James Weaver and Ellena Mae Hoffpauer Stephenson. Wife, teacher, mother, homemaker and grandmother, she passed away in Dallas Texas on June 4, 2021. When Barbara was 11, her mother died and she moved to Leesville, Louisiana to live with her uncle and aunt, George (“Brown”) and Verdie Mooneyham until she left home for college. Barbara attended Leesville High School, graduating in 1951 as valedictorian. She then attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1954.
In 1947, Barbara met and began a 74-year relationship with her future husband, Walter Max Burns. Barbara and Max were married following her college graduation in June 1954 at the United Methodist Church in Leesville. Max had joined the Army the year before, and Barbara and he made their first home in Atlanta, Georgia, near where Max was stationed. During Max’s military service, Barbara began her 31year career as a teacher of mathematics. Following Max’s honorable discharge in 1957 Barbara and Max returned to Louisiana to attend Louisiana State University. Barbara earned a master’s degree in mathematics in 1958. Following graduation in 1958, Barbara and Max settled in Dallas, Texas, teaching in the Dallas Independent School District and joining the First United Methodist Church. In 1961, Barbara left teaching to raise her twin daughters, Carole and Cheryl, returning to teaching in 1969. Barbara taught math in the Dallas Independent School District at Bryan Adams for 1 year and then in Richardson Independent School District for the next 23 years at Forest Meadow Junior High School. Almost every summer from 1964 till her daughters left to attend college, Barbara and Max traveled as a family across the United States, and after Barbara and Max retired, their travels expanded around the world. Barbara was an avid reader, movie buff and collector.
Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Walter Max Burns. She is survived by her twin daughters, Carole Lyons (Kevin) and Cheryl Lawrence (David), and four grandsons, Nathan Lyons, Stephen Lawrence, Christopher Lawrence and Matthew Lyons (Kayla).
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