Frances "Fran" Burgin

In the early morning hours of July 14, 2024, Frances Howell Burgin joined the Lord and her husband Bill in heaven.

A lifelong and proud resident of Haywood County, Fran was raised in Canton at Engadine with her parents, Glenn and Stella Howell. Both sides of her family have been in the Haywood County area since the late 1790’s. She graduated from Canton High School and continued her studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studied Social Work. After her graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fran accepted a summer job in Waynesville. There she met her future husband Bill Burgin while getting a drink of water on a hot July day. Bill cautioned Fran she would get the same thing he got out of that fountain. In response to Fran’s worried query of “What”, Bill replied “water”. They married in 1952, raised four children, and were life-long members of the First Baptist Church in Waynesville. Fran and Bill were inseparable their entire marriage, always traveling and attending social functions with their large group of friends. Bill passed away in 2009, and Fran remained in Waynesville until 2021, when she moved to Carolina Village in Hendersonville.

She was preceded in death by her parents Glenn and Stella Howell and sister Helen Allen, brother Rogers Howell, and husband Bill Burgin.

Fran is survived by her children, Pam and Tom Powlas of Hendersonville; Patt Burgin of Waynesville; Camille and Steve Posey of Boaz, Alabama, and John and Anita Burgin of Waynesville. Grandchildren include grandson, Glenn and Meagan Powlas of Durham, North Carolina; grandson, Brian and Bridget Powlas of Houston, Texas; granddaughter, Laura and Heath Wilson of Boaz, Alabama; granddaughter, Stacey and Deniz Burgin-Chen of Durham, North Carolina; granddaughter, Liz Patton Burgin of Waynesville; granddaughters, Meredith and Julianne Burgin of Waynesville and seven great-grandchildren whom she loved.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Waynesville. Visitation will begin one hour prior to service. Interment will follow the service at Green Hill Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Friends of Henderson County Library – Marked In Memory of Fran Burgin – 1940 Spartanburg Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792

Her family would like to thank Care Angels and the staff of Carolina Village for their love and support for the past several years. 

The care of Ms. Burgin has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville