Ann Williams Burrus

1930 - 2026

Ann Williams Burrus

Jul 3, 1930 - Feb 23, 2026

Ann Williams Burrus died February 23, 2026. A co-founder and President of the Children's Museum of Richmond, Va., and the Garfield F. Childs Memorial Fund, Ms. Burrus also served as Chair and a member of the Virginia Commission for the Arts and was an officer or member of many other boards of directors in Richmond, including The Richmond Symphony Women's Committee, the YWCA, the Friends of the Richmond Public Library, the Fan Townhouse and Garden Club, the Memorial Child Guidance Clinic, the Women's Club, the Country Club of Virginia, and the Richmond Bridge Association. An avid duplicate bridge player, she was a Sapphire Life Master.

Born in Durham, N.C., Ms. Burrus moved to Manhattan in 1946, graduating valedictorian from her high school with honors in English, Spanish and Chemistry. She was the Charles Maxwell McConn scholar at NYU until transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill, where she finished Phi Beta Kappa and was elected to the Order of the Old Well. On a teaching assistantship to the University of Tennessee, she pursued a Master's Degree in American Literature and later earned two Master's Degrees in Early Childhood Education and Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was elected to Phi Kappa Phi. She is the author of four published books.

Survivors include three sons: David Curran Burrus of Chicago and wife, Patricia Priddy Burrus; Peter Tandy Burrus of Franklin, Tenn., and wife, Luz Elena; Lewis Graves Burrus II of Charlottesville and Richmond and wife, Dr. Shannon Roberts Burrus; three granddaughters: Abigail Hart Burrus, Eve Elizabeth Burrus, and Maggie Anne Burrus; six nieces and nephews; numerous grand- and great-grand-nieces and nephews.

Contributions may be made to the Ann Williams Burrus Endowment Fund at the University of North Carolina, 134 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, or to a charity of the donor's choice. A private memorial will be held for family and close friends.