Emily Burch

Mrs. Emily Burch, age 89, of Dalton passed away Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at The Waterford at Oakwood.

Memorial Services will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, January 18, 2016 at Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church.  Rev. John Batusic will officiate.

Emily Burch was born Emma Harriet Stanfield on 2/20/1926 in Varnell, Georgia, which is just outside of Dalton Georgia.   Ida Mae Anderson Stanfield was her mama and William Sanford Stanfield was her daddy.  She was a sharecropper’s daughter with an older sister Mildred, younger sister Charlotte and a baby brother Charles.  Emma’s mom died when she was a young girl, so Mildred assumed a motherly role to her younger siblings.  Not liking the name Emma, she chose to go by the name Emily.

At sixteen years old, Emily began college at Berry and then transferred to UGA and completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry.  She later received her Masters and Specialists degrees in Education also at UGA (Go Dogs!!).  While working on her undergraduate degree, Emily met this real cute boy named Jim Burch in the dining hall and the dynasty began.   Jim later told his son Bruce that he was initially attracted to Emily because she was so full of life (Jim was an engineer so you can see that!).  They married and had two sons, little Jim and Brucie who followed five years later.

Emily’s husband, Jim Sr., had a massive stroke when Jim, Jr. was in college and Bruce was in High School.  It became clear that Emily would need to be the main breadwinner, so Emily went back to school and completed her Masters and Specialists degrees all while working a full time job and caring for her family.  

For 36 years Emily taught home economics in Fulton County:  Hapeville HS, Hedland HS, & Westwood HS (which later became Westlake).  Groups of students and teachers could always be found laughing in her room.  As Chairman of the Department, Mrs. Burch enjoyed  & mentored students and teachers.  Bruce and Jim could bring anyone home, there was always food, it truly was a gathering place for all their friends.   When you came in the door, you were treated like family. 

Emily celebrated additions to her family:  her daughters in law (Patsy and Cindy) were welcomed and became the daughters she never had (and always wanted!!).  With Chris, her first grandchild, the long tradition of loving the grandchildren began and was continued with the twins -- Matt and Mark, then Jesse, Coulter and Brittanne.   She was very proud of her extended family:  Joe, Mike, Jan, Terry, Don, Debbie, Jackie, Johnny, Steve, Robin, Mark, Virgie Lee, Billy, Leslie, Karen, Charles and Bobby.  

If you want proof of her love for family, or have stories you’d like to tell about Emily, join with her family & friends at 11:00 AM on January 18^th at Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church for an chance to honor her life. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Eagle Ranch, P. O. Box 7200, Chestnut Mountain, GA 30502,  (770) 967-8500

Memorial Park South Funeral Home, 4121 Falcon Parkway, Flowery Branch, Georgia  30542 is in charge of arrangements.  Send on-line condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.