Miriam Burton

Miriam Sperry Stephens Burton, Age 72, of Sharkey passed away on Thursday, July 17, 2008, at St. Claire Regional Medical Center after a brief illness.

She was born in South Shore, Kentucky, on November 6, 1935, to the late Roscoe Stephens and Nellie Margaret (Sperry) Stephens.

A graduate of Morehead State University, Miriam taught in the elementary grades for 27 years, retiring from the Rowan County Public School system in 1991. She had also taught for the Greenup and Boyd County systems. She was a dedicated teacher, receiving awards too numerous to mention and touching countless students' lives in the process.

Known for her infectious laughter and commitment to God, Miriam was a member of Gearheart Community Church, which her husband founded and where he pastored until his death.

Miriam was preceded in death by her husband of 39 years, the Reverend Ivis Leon Burton, and two sons, Stephen Leon Burton and Timothy Paul Burton, as well as her parents and a sister, Mary Elizabeth Kilgore.

She is survived by a sister, Lenore Shipley of Bonifay, Florida, a brother, Edward Stephens of Maloneton, many nieces and nephews and one daughter, Elizabeth Grace Burton of Morehead, who was the light of her life.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 A.M. Monday, July 21, 2008 in the chapel of the Lane-Stucky-Gray Funeral Home with Rev. James E. Wiley of Cincinnati officiating. Burial will follow in the Bellefonte Memorial Gardens in Bellefonte, Kentucky. Visitation is after 5:00 P.M. Sunday.

Pallbearers will be William Shipley, Creighton Stephens, Jason Conley, Jon Stephens, Blane Kissick and David Johnson.

Lane-Stucky-Gray Funeral Home is caring for all arrangements.