Mary Fern (Bullard) Burnette
Updated: Nov 15, 2022
June 29, 1939 ~ November 11, 2022 (age 83)
Mary Fern Bullard Burnette, age 83 of the Corinth Community in Chadbourn, went to be with her Lord on Friday, November 11, 2022, at the Lower Cape Fear Angel House in Whiteville, NC.
Mary Fern Bullard Burnette, age 83, died Friday, November 11, 2022 at the Angel House Hospice Care Center in Whiteville, NC. She was the beloved wife of the Reverend Rucker Preston Burnette, and the daughter of the late Gutherie Thomas (GT) Bullard, Sr and the late Mary Edna Kissam Bullard.
Mary Fern was an active member of Red Oak Baptist Church for 33 years, as well as a dedicated elementary special education teacher in the Nash-Rocky Mount school system. Upon retirement, Mary Fern and Rucker moved home to Chadbourn where they continued to be active in their community and Corinth Baptist Church.
Mary Fern was an amazing, supportive, encouraging, and loving mother and is survived by her children Mary Snow Thornton (Hamp), Julie Ann Castelloe (Andy), and Rucker Preston Burnette, Jr (Misty). The joy and light of her life, though, were her five grandchildren, Gretchen Snow Castelloe, Laney Elizabeth Castelloe, Mary Kissam Thornton, Richard Hampton Thornton III, and Peyton Yvonne Burnette with whom she shared her love of reading, painting, and cooking.
Mary Fern is preceded in death by her brother Gutherie Thomas (Tommy) Bullard, Jr and survived by her sister Phyllis Jane Bullard both of Chadbourn, and cousins Libby Mercer, Durema Kissam, and Norman Kissam.
A visitation will be held at the Worthington Funeral Home in Chadbourn on Sunday, November 13, 2022 from 6 pm to 8 pm. A Celebration of Life will be held at the graveside at the Chadbourn Memorial Cemetery, on Monday, November 14, 2022 at 11 am.
The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the nurses and staff at Angel House Hospice Care Center in Whiteville. Memorials may be made to the Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Angel House. Donate online at lifecare.org or mail donation to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare 1414 Physicians Dr., Wilmington, NC 28401.