Extracted from The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)
Saturday, July 20, 2002

Martha Kabbes Burns

Jackson

Martha Kabbes Burns, 68, died Thursday, July 18, 2002, in Eutaw, AL, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 20, from the chapel of Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Ridgeland, with burial to follow in Parkway Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

Mrs. Burns was born in Clarke County, MS. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Masters' degree from Mississippi State University. She was the owner and director of THE EDUCATION CENTER SCHOOL, which she founded in 1964.

Mrs. Burns belonged to numerous charitable and civic organizations, often hosting receptions in her home. She was past President of the National Learning Disabilities Association, advisory board member for the Learning Disabilities Association of Mississippi, a supporter of Mississippi Children's Home Society, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a member of the Mississippi Art Association, a member of the Jackson Symphony League, and a supporter of Friends of the International Ballet Competition.

She was the recipient of many honors and awards in education, including the Highest Honor Award from the Mississippi Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, a commendation from the Mississippi White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals, and numerous certificates of appreciation from the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. She was a long time member of the Association of School Administrators.

She is survived by her husband, John Baxter Burns; son, John Clayton Kabbes; daughters, Carmen Kabbes Goforth and Lila Kabbes Strode; mother, Cornelia Ellis Thomas; brothers, James Allen Thomas and Donald Ellis Thomas; sisters Sarah Thomas Steenberge, Katherine Thomas Weber, and Lynn Thomas Macon; grandchildren, John Clayton Kabbes, Jr., Samuel Hunter Kabbes, Martha Kate Goforth, Kenneth Wayne Goforth, Beverly Katherine Strode, Layne McCarthy Strode, John Baxter Burns, II and Sidney Ellis Burns; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers will be Ken Goforth, Paul Strode, Blake Macon, Brandon Ogburn, Jim Burns, and J. Baxter Burns.

The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the Martha Kabbes Burns Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.0. Box 9387, Jackson, MS 39286-9387.