In Memory of

Stella
Burry

1944 -
2018

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Sincerely Yours Funeral Home
50 Main Street
New-Wes-Valley, Newfoundland
CANADA
A0G 4R0

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Obituary for Stella Burry

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Life Story for Stella Burry

Nan Burry


Good morning everyone, I’m sure most of you here know me, but for those of you who don’t, my name is Janna Hounsell— the proud granddaughter of Stella Burry.
You know, I still cannot believe that I am doing this, it doesn’t even seem real. I feel like when I am finished, Nan will be there to give me a hug and say “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful”, yet she won’t. But the one thing that she will do today is give me the strength to get through this tribute to her.
I’m not going to stand here and dwell on the last ten months of sickness or tell you much about it because that woman that we lost 3 days ago, wasn’t my Nan, it was a woman who fought with everything she had in her, up until the last minute, only to be defeated by an awful disease. So now, I’ll tell you all about who Stella Burry really was…
Stella Marguerite Burry was born in Port Nelson, Newfoundland on January 27th, 1944. She was the baby girl of Cecil and Lillian Wicks and the sister of eleven siblings— Bill, Arthur, Frances, Jean, Ernie, Carrie, Marie, Eli, Gerald, Donald, and Lloyd. She was the wife of Saul Burry for 52 years and had 7 children— Barry, Paula, Darren, Gerald, Todd, Sheryl and Trina, who then gave her 13 grandchildren that she adored so very much— myself, Tyra, Adam, Anthony, Deidre, Victoria, Matthew, Holly, Georgia, Mallory, Mark, Jared, and Rayna and one great grandchild— Lexi. Her family was her everything.
To tell you the truth, I had a very hard time fitting all of Nan’s traits into one piece of writing and I will never do justice with what I have to say. Actually, I am sure almost everyone here today has something to share about her and how she impacted their life.
Where do I start? I think I will start off by saying, I left this eulogy to the very last minute, I was up until 3am last night trying to find the right words worthy of her. But I am glad that I waited because I got the opportunity to speak to most everyone at the funeral home these past few days and the consensus seems to be “if you knew her, you loved her”.
Nan was so proud of her family, and had to make us all known. I fondly remember her famous introduction— “that’s my maid there”. Her family really was her whole entirety. She had no desire to travel the world and was content and happy with her life right here in Badger’s Quay.
Nan was all there for fun and laughter— she loved music, singing, dancing, and company. Her door was always open and she made everyone feel welcome. You could not leave her house without a cup of tea and a lunch, no was just not an option. Nan would chase you out the door with it if she had to, even if it was just a candy. Nan was the life of the party and occasionally enjoyed “one inch of beer”. She loved to celebrate everything. Specifically, this past old Christmas night we had a Chinese supper at the firehall and after we had everything cleared away and people started to leave Nan said “Where yas going bys? We’re going to have a dance now”. We didn’t know anything before she was over in the corner and busted out her ghetto-blaster and CDs — we called her DJ Stella.
Nan loved Christmas and everything about it. It was a very special time for our family. We always gathered together on Christmas night to watch Nan and Pop open their gifts. But she was unfailingly reluctant about opening them— she would rather see them wrapped and in under the tree. Nan would always say “What do yous want to me tear that open for now? Sure, I could keep that there until next Christmas”.
Nan loved every occasion, not just Christmas. She never forgot anyone’s birthday, always had a card, and would be the first one to call and sing happy birthday— oh, how I will miss that.
Nan was the type that had to take part in everything and if she was involved in it, she was dedicated to it. She was an active member of the Badger’s Quay Lion’s Club, the 50 Plus Group, the St.Alban’s Choir, sold and delivered tickets and volunteered with everything on the shore. She gave her time so unselfishly to the community and didn’t expect anything in return. As well as being a volunteer she was also a patriot to her community. She actually loved to give her support and donate to organizations. Her focus was others and was always willing to give just a little bit more. She was truly selfless.
Through being involved in so many things, Nan made many, many friends. She cherished every one of them, and spending time with her friends was one of the things she enjoyed best— whether it be going out for lunch, sharing a cup of tea, or a good laugh. When Nan got sick it was no trouble to tell how many friends that she really did have. If the Queen herself was at the Health Science, she wouldn’t have had as many visitors as Nan did. I remember going up Nan’s house one night after she got home and she was boasting to me about all the cards she received. She had them all lined up across the table and exclaimed, “just look, take a picture of my 100 cards, people are so good”.
Nan really did love people and people loved her too. You could be anywhere and if someone asked who you were and you told them you were Stella Burry’s granddaughter, their response would be bound to be “Oh my gosh, I know your grandmother all to pieces, she’s a sweetheart”. That’s because she was the friendliest person you could ever meet, a real social butterfly. A 20 minute trip to the shop with Nan always turned into an hour, because if there were 25 people in the shop, Nan knew 24 of them and had to speak every single one and before she left she would know the 25th one. I loved that about her. She left a footprint on the hearts of everyone she met. She was the kind of person you just could not forget. Many of the nurses that cared for her during this journey developed a special relationship with her—they all agreed that she was very easy to love. And she cared for each and every one of them too. She would refer to them as angels and appreciated everything they did for her from the bottom of her heart. If they looked tired she would often tell them to lie in her bed and have a nap.
That was another thing that really stood out about Nan, she always put other people before herself. She sacrificed much more than we will ever know, just to make sure her family was happy. She didn’t want anyone to fuss over her or torment them for anything. She would rather walk than call and ask for a ride, especially if she knew you were doing something. Speaking of driving, Nan didn’t have her license, but if she did, I can assure you, she would have been the best driver on the road, according to her.
Nan absolutely hated for anyone to be on the highway. I can hear her now saying “watch for moose, don’t be speeding, and don’t fall asleep”. When she called she would have it timed right down to the minute and know exactly where you were. She wouldn’t rest unless she knew you were home safe and sound, and not in your driveway either, you had to be in your house. Nan was such a worrier. She worried about not only her own family, but everyone else’s too. I think that was partly because she experienced her fair share of tragedy during her life. She lost her brother and two nephews to a fire at a very young age and buried almost all of her siblings. But Nan bared her suffering and sorrow behind closed doors, for no one to see. She didn’t want her loved ones to see her hurting. During the time of her sickness, she did not shed a tear, not for us to see anyways. Whenever she would see anyone crying she would say “what are you crying for?”. Nan kept everyone going— she was our pillar of strength and the glue that kept us all together. I don’t know how she did it really— it must have been her great faith and devotion to the Lord.
Nan was beautiful. She had this great sense of pride— she was always dressed to the nines, her hair was done just so, and lipstick and earrings were necessities. “Just like a stick of chewing gum”, as she would say. Not only was she beautiful on the outside but on the inside too. Nan was bursting with goodness—she was generous, humble, young at heart, full of life, and a peacekeeper.
Nan cared more than most, loved more than most and was made to endure more than most. I am lucky to have had such an amazing grandmother. She was perfect and we are all a little closer to perfection to have had her in our lives.
I wasn’t ready to lose Nan, but in all honesty, I would have never been ready, not even in one hundred life times. There will be many days that I will wish her back, but I wouldn’t want her back to suffer.
My dearest Nan, the heartache is unbearable. When you left you took a piece of my heart, a piece of my everyday, and left a void that will never be filled. But I am sure your heavenly family is happy to have you. Nan, I promise that you will never be forgotten and we will always keep your memory alive but in return please give us all the strength to live without you for now.

Rest In Peace my sweet Nan, I love you forever.

-Janny Boo