of Harrison, AR
February 24, 1922 - June 11, 2016
Thelma Iva Burke, age 94 of Harrison, passed away Saturday, June 11, 2016, peacefully at home. She was born February 24, 1922, in Tottenham, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Stella (Taylor) Ellison and Ernest M. Ellison, Sr. Thelma was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters and brothers, Ken Ellison, Annie Rutledge, Mary Winterfield, Ernest Ellison, Jr. and Bernice Murphy; and her husband, Henry Haven Burke.
Thelma was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Harrison. She had lived in Harrison for 12 years and was a prior resident of Oceanside, California. She worked at the University of California Irvine where she was a hospital nutritionist. Thelma enjoyed playing Canasta and loved including her family in her game, and enjoyed keeping her rose garden.
Thelma is survived by her sons, Doug Grills, David Grills, and Gary Grills; her daughters, Beverley Johnson, Patricia Martinez, and Karen Spence; eleven grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and many other family and friends.
Funeral services will be 11:00 AM, Saturday, June 18, 2016, at St. John's Episcopal Church, with Father Greg Hoover officiating.
Interment was in Maple Leaf Cemetery, Harrison, AR.
Family and friends served as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers were the Burke family.
We were very blessed to have had our mother with us for so many years.
Gary and Family, I want to thank you for sharing your mother with us. The lady that I knew for a brief timeI was one who held herself well with class and dignity. She always had a smile for me. I wish I had had more time time to visit with her her but she was always in my thoughts and prayers, as you and your family are now. Sorry I missed the services but I only found out at 4 o'clock this afternoon. Take care God bless and I pray healing comes to your hearts