Obituary of Caroline F. Burnett

Caroline Flournoy Anderson Burnett died peacefully at age 97 at her home at Kendal at Longwood, Kennett Square, PA on August 25, 2014. Mrs. Burnett faced life's challenges with bravery, dignity, tenacity and good humor. She grew up in the depression, attended college on a full scholarship, and married her husband after waiting anxiously for his return from his World War II service. When Mrs. Burnett contracted polio and was told that she would never again walk or have children, she promptly embarked upon a grueling physical therapy program by which she regained most of her strength and, against her doctor's advice, two years later she had her daughter. Mrs. Burnett had an iron will and strong moral values, which she combined with overwhelming kindness to all, and a genuine interest in people from all walks of life. Mrs. Burnett lived every minute of her life to the fullest and often expressed her gratitude at her life as one filled with family, friends, civic involvement, and love. Mrs. Burnett was a fun, energetic and spirited wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Her 63 year marriage to her husband Lucian, who predeceased her in 2010, was a model for her children and grandchildren of a loving marriage of mutual respect and unfailing kindness. Mrs. Burnett was committed to community service, serving as a tutor to school children, a Girl Scout leader, and a volunteer at a refugee house, and she also acted on her political ideals and moral values, by supporting Planned Parenthood and gun control initiatives and, at age 90, organizing a "Get-out-the-Vote" campaign that called over 1000 voters for then Presidential candidate Barack Obama. She had an infectious and feisty sense of humor, often engaging in practical jokes and sharing her home-crafted "Joke Book" with Kendal residents. Mrs. Burnett worked at the Prudential Insurance Company before marriage and later enjoyed a career as a public relations consultant. In their retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Burnett travelled around the world, including to India and Africa. Mrs. Burnett is survived by her son Larry and his wife Suzi, and their daughter Amanda, of New York City, and her daughter Betsy and her husband Charley Glerum, of Boston, and their two children Ben (and his wife Alexandra) of Washington D.C., and Katie, a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City who is currently living in Uganda, where she works at a health clinic. Mrs. Burnett is also survived by the loving and professional Westmorland nursing staff at Kendal, whom she considered family, and in particular by her primary aids Kathy Jiusti and Carla Cochran, for whom the Burnett family will forever be grateful for their unwavering love and support. Mrs. Burnett was predeceased by her mother and father, Elizabeth and James Anderson, her son Bradford, and her husband Lucian. A memorial service will be held in early 2015, after her grand-daughter Katie returns from Uganda and the entire family can be together.