Lucy Buran Cornett

CORNETT, Lucy Buran, 97, went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. She was born to the late Nancy Estelle Floyd Buran and Wilburn Wright Buran on January 24, 1927, in Richmond, VA. She and her older brother, Wilburn Buran, Jr., remember with exceptional fondness growing up in White Sulphur Springs, WV, where she graduated from White Sulphur Springs High School in 1944. She earned her BS in psychology from the College of William and Mary in 1948 then worked in Richmond for two years with the Virginia Department of Welfare and Institutions, assisting dependent children. She received her master's degree in social work at Columbia University in 1952 then for the next five years, she helped develop a joint program between the VA Dept of Welfare and Institutions and the VA Dept of Health, implementing a foster care program for underprivileged children who were being treated far away from home in Richmond for orthopedic conditions, children, who would otherwise be subjected to a hospital stay of months, received care in boarding homes. These were typically children from rural Virginia, whose families were unable to travel frequently to Richmond for outpatient care.

In 1955, Lucy married Fred Bryant Cornett and moved to Danville, VA where Fred had a growing practice in oral surgery. In Danville, Lucy taught psychology and sociology until 1974, initially at the Danville extension of Virginia Tech, and then at Stratford College.

Fred and Lucy were constant partners and companions for over 51 years, raising a family of three boys and participating fully in the life of the Danville community. The family was active at Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church where Lucy taught kindergarten Sunday School for years. Other organizations of which Lucy was an active member include the Wednesday Club, the Shakespeare Club, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Jamestown Society. She was an avid gardener growing both outdoor and indoor plants and flowers.

Lucy's greatest passion was family. She was an adoring and devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, cousin, sister-in-law, and aunt. Nothing, it seemed, brought her greater joy than spending time with family and close friends.

Lucy and Fred moved to Galloway Ridge in Pittsboro, NC in 2005, where they spent their later years living an active and fulfilling life. Lucy's Christian faith was always strong and unwavering - she moved her church membership to Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, NC.

Lucy was a lifetime learner - she traveled extensively and was forever active in her book club, and she even traveled to Canada while in her eighties for Shakespeare festivals. She loved to read her many books and two daily newspapers; in fact, she enjoyed one of her favorite sections, the daily comics, up to her very last days. Lucy had a lifetime passion for dance and daily exercise, continuing both into her ninth and tenth decades.

Lucy is survived by her three sons; William Cornett and wife Stephanie of Charlotte, NC, Joseph Cornett and wife Cynthia of Morrisville, NC, and John Cornett and partner Beth Bickford of Glen Allen, VA.; grandchildren Byrant Cornett of Houston, TX, William Cornett and wife Allison of Jacksonville, NC, James Cornett of Charlotte, NC, Joseph Cornett of Chapel Hill, NC, Gregg Cornett of Durham, NC, Jack Cornett of Atlanta, GA, Mary Floyd Cornett of Vigo, Spain, and Fred Cornett of Harrisonburg, VA; and several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, all of whom she loved dearly.

In addition to her parents, brother, and husband, Lucy was predeceased by her brother-in-law; Joseph Payne, and sisters -in-law; Joanna Cornett, Ruth Payne, and Beverly Buran.

Lucy and her family have been wonderfully blessed for years with the amazing energy, loving care, and warm friendship of Debbie and Billy Slater. Together, they enriched Lucy's later years beyond measure.

The family would like to thank the entire community of Galloway Ridge for providing Lucy with a network of warm and active friends, as well as a staff of loving caretakers.

A memorial service and reception to celebrate Lucy's life will be held on Saturday, April 6, at 1 p.m., in the Galloway Ridge auditorium, 3000 Galloway Ridge, Pittsboro, NC. Gifts in Lucy's memory can be made to Christ United Methodist Church, 105 Market St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516, christmethodist.org, and Food for Thought Outer Banks, PO Box 1167, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949, foodforthoughtobx.org.