Teresa Ellen Burton

BURTON, Teresa Ellen, died on March 18, 2008, surrounded by her loving family. Her death follows a brave and cheerful fight against non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She was born in South Boston, Va., on March 20, 1957, the cherished youngest child of Betty Crews Burton and John Edward Burton, who died in 1986. Teresa is survived by her husband, John Wagener Bloxham; and their treasured dogs and cats in their Goochland home. She is survived by her loving sister and lifelong best friend, Mary Ruth Burton and her husband, Rich McClain; along with Mary Ruth's children, Burton Fuller and Ruth Harrison Fuller, who were truly part Teresa's. Other survivors include her brothers and sisters-in-law, John Burton and wife, Kay, of South Boston, Don Burton and wife, Sonya, of Asheboro, N.C.; sisters, Lynn Burton and partner, Sylvia Lindsey, of Richmond, Meredith Bowman and her husband, Doug, of South Boston; Teresa's nephews and their wives, Ward and Tabitha Burton of Halifax, Brian and Judith Burton of South Boston, Jeff and Kim Burton of Charlotte; and all their beautiful children, Jeb, Sarah, Ashton, Alexander, Paige and Harrison. She is survived by three half-sisters, Barbara Oakes of Richmond, Jean Centner and Doris Robertson of Tennessee. She is survived by her loving in-laws, John and Doris Savage of Charlottesville and Dr. Jack Bloxham and his wife, Beth. Based on her keen intellect and high scores, she was invited to attend several universities after her junior year at Halifax County High School. She attended Appalachian State University, later transferring to Virginia Commonwealth University, where she received a B.A. in English and post-baccalaureate degree in Accounting. She started a small business handling accounts for creative businesses and restaurants in the Fan area and later managed restaurants with Alan delForn. For many years, she worked for James River Corporation where she worked in tax, information systems and human resources implementing systems across the U.S. and in Canada. At the time of her death, she was a systems analyst for Bon Secours Health System. Visitation will be on Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Burton/McClain home. Memorial services will be held outside at her church, St. John's Episcopal Church, Columbia, Va., at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 21. A graveside service will be held at the family plot in Oak Ridge Cemetery, South Boston, Va., on Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, Utah 84741 or another animal protection organization of your choice. The family wishes to thank Teresa's many faithful friends along with the caring nurses and doctors at Massey Cancer Center and the Virginia Cancer Institute. Also, to honor Teresa, please enjoy a book by a new author and then pass it along to a friend, as she did hundreds of times.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.