Leola Fern Sawvell Burdan passed away from this life on April 3, 2022 at Glen Carr House in Derby, Kansas. Fern was born on August 28, 1919, in Wiley, Colorado to Elijah and Pluma Pruitt, the second of five children, including older brother George and younger sisters, Rosella, Hazel, and Vera. Fern’s parents divorced when she was in first grade and she and her brother lived with their dad, stepmother, two stepbrothers, one stepsister, and half-sister in Penrose, Colorado. After graduating high school, she moved to Cabool, Missouri with her brother to reunite with her mother and sisters. She later returned to Colorado and lived in Pueblo, where she met her future husband and the love of her life, Lee, while working as a waitress at the Kress deli. They eloped on September 15, 1940, after three months of dating and welcomed their first daughter, Sandra on their 2nd wedding anniversary. Their youngest daughter, Vicky, was born in 1951 while living in Amarillo, Texas.
After Lee’s untimely passing in 1974, Fern was married to Norvil Burdan where she resided with him in Ava, Missouri. Norvil passed away in 1987 and shortly after, Fern moved to Lee’s Summit, Missouri to be near her youngest daughter while fighting, then beating, colon cancer. After 30 years in Lee’s Summit, Fern moved to be near her oldest daughter in the Wichita, Kansas area.
Fern loved quilting, sewing, her animals, and playing bridge with friends. She was blessed to watch her grandchildren grow up and have children of their own, even dancing at 100 years old at her oldest great granddaughter’s wedding. Fern was a force to be reckoned with and her absence will leave a hole in the hearts of her family, but who are comforted in the knowledge of Fern’s fierce faith in the LORD and her savior Jesus Christ.
Fern was preceded in death by her parents, her infant daughter Sharon Jean, husbands Lee Sawvell and Norvil Burdan, her four siblings, and sons-in-law Thomas Carter and Phillip Hale. She is survived by daughters Sandra Ward (Cecil) and Vicky Hale, grandchildren Devin Carter (Analia), Darcy Alexander (Mitch Cogburn), Ryan Hale (Casey), and Mindy Potter (Sean), and her nine greatgrandchildren whom she loved dearly.
Graveside services will be held at Lee Cemetery, 15982–16198 Beaty Rd., Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, on Friday, April 8, 2022 at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Humane Society of the United States
1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037.