Burden, Leona Patterson, 93, passed away on Tuesday, January 18, 2010, at Bolton Adult Care Home in West Linn, Oregon. She was born on April 16, 1917, to George and Josie Moree Patterson, near Dandridge, Tennessee. She was a graduate of Maury High School, Dandridge, TN, Class of l937. She continued her education at Berea College, Berea, KY, graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Home Economics, Class of l941. On August 4, 1940, Leona married her best friend and sweetheart, Jess Wiggins Burden, a Physics major, Class of 41. After graduating from Berea College, they both taught school at Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County, KY.
In June, l942, Leona moved to Norris, Tennessee and to Oak Ridge, TN in 1943 with her husband who was working on the Manhattan Project for the Department of the Army. Leona was a substitute teacher for Anderson County Schools while maintaining her role as a full-time housewife. Together, Jess and Leona Burden raised their family of five children and lived near Oak Ridge, Tennessee for 65 years. After living in Texas for a couple of years with her grandson, Christopher Burden, Leona moved to Wilsonville, Oregon in 2007, to be near her daughter, Mary Joyce VanWechel and her family.
Leona is preceded in death by her husband, Jess Burden in 2005; also her parents, George and Josie M. Patterson, her two sisters, Kathleen Breeden and Roberta Breeden; a brother, Tom Patterson; her son, John Clark Burden; and a granddaughter, Monica Burden Watkins.
Leona is survived by four of her children, Thomas Earl Burden and wife, Linda, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Shirley Burden McLaughlin of Asheville, North Carolina; Mary Joyce Burden VanWechel and husband, Steve, of Wilsonville, Oregon; and Jane Burden Krueger and husband, Darryl, of Pelzer, South Carolina. Leona is also survived by her grandchildren, Christopher Burden and wife, Amy, of Houston, Texas; Joseph, Makayla and Jessica VanWechel of Wilsonville, Oregon; and Deanna Green Hopkins and husband, Jamie, of Greenville, South Carolina. She has numerous step-grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, their spouses and children. Leona will be greatly missed by all of her extended family, friends and neighbors in East Tennessee as well as her more recent circle of friends in the Portland, Oregon area.
A reception for family and friends will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2011, 1:00 - 2:30 PM, at Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, 160 Edgemoor Road, Powell, Tennessee 37849. (Phone 865-945-3461). The funeral is scheduled on the same date, at the same location, at 2:30 PM, with burial onsite in Woodhaven Memorial Gardens immediately following the funeral.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Berea College Foundation, CPO 2216, Berea, KY 40404. Online memorials may be made at www.berea.edu/friendsdonors/makegift/onetime.aspx . Use the "Comments" box at the bottom of the website to indicate a memorial to Leona Patterson Burden, Class of l941. A memorial service is planned for February 5, 2011, at the Wilsonville Community Center, 7965 SW Wilsonville Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070. Inquiries about the memorial service may be directed to Mary Joyce VanWechel (503) 682-5048.
Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens is honored to serve the family of Leona Patterson Burden. www.woodhavenfh.com