Mary Burris

Mary Parkes Burris

Age 97, of Penn Yan, New York, passed away on December 25, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.

A wake in Mary’s honor will be held on Sunday, January 12, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at Weldon Funeral Home, 102 E. Main Street, Penn Yan. A requiem mass will follow on Monday, January 13, at 12:00 noon at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 312 Liberty Street, Penn Yan, with burial to take place at Rural Cemetery in Hornell, New York.

Mary was born on November 28, 1927, in Hornell, New York, to Lawrence Parkes and Elizabeth “Libby” (Greene) Parkes. She was delivered at home by her Grandmother (Parkes) Worden, and joined her older brother, Paul.

Mary’s early years were shaped by the Great Depression and World War II, during which she tragically lost her only sibling, Paul. She graduated from high school in 1946 and attended S.U.N.Y. Geneseo. On June 24, 1948, she married William J. Burris, with whom she shared 59 years of marriage.

While raising five children, Mary pursued her passion for nursing, earning her LPN from the Marion Whelan School of Nursing. She later attended Finger Lakes Community College, graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing in 1975, and officially became a Registered Nurse on October 1, 1975. Mary dedicated her career to caring for others, serving as a nurse and supervisor for many years at The Homestead and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Penn Yan.

Mary was predeceased by her parents, her husband, William J. Burris, in 2007, her son, James Lawrence Burris (1972), two infant children, her only sibling, a brother, Paul Parkes, sons-in-law Stephen O. Chase and Peter Paul Yastremski, Jr., and her sister-in-law, Mary Alice Burris.

She is survived by her loving children: Paula Yastremski, William J. Burris II (Annie), Elizabeth Burris-Chase, Charles Burris (Mary Kay), and her foster daughter, Linda Brugge. She also leaves behind seven grandchildren, three foster grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and four foster great-grandchildren.

Mary will be remembered for her resilience, compassion, and devotion to her family and community.