Del was a graduate of St. Teresa Academy of East St Louis. She was not only a founding member of St. Augustine’s Church, but also a past president of the Queenship of Mary’s Sodality for that parish. She was one of the first woman Eucharistic Ministers in the Belleville diocese and distributed the Holy Eucharist to patients at both Memorial and St. Elizabeth’s hospitals. Del also organized and worked in the Meals on Wheels ministry of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. She was a past president of the St. Clair County Women’s Club. Of all her time devoted to the organizations and ministries that she served, her most important time was spent in being the wife of her beloved husband, Wil Burnham, and the mother of their six children.
Delama was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Wilfred M. Burnham, whom she married on August 20, 1947, and who died on February 18, 2006; her parents, John M. and Anna A., nee Bastien, Thompson; a brother, John (Mary Carolyn) Thompson; and a brother-in-law, Richard Sullivan.
She is survived by six children, Karen (Norbert) Belz of Nixa, MO, Mike (Pam) Burnham of Swansea, IL, Terry (Karen) Burnham of Lake Chelan, WA, Peggy (Kevin) Muckensturm of Belleville, IL, Colleen (Carl) Schaefer of Belleville, IL, and Dan (Nancy) Burnham of St. Louis, MO;
19 grandchildren, Norby (Ken Sosko) Belz, Kirk (Tara) Belz, Derek (Lacey) Belz, Madeline (Scott) Perket, Kyle (Cathy) Burnham, Lindsay Burnham, Nick (Kelley) Burnham, Todd (Lisa) Burnham, Lexie Burnham, Jason (Kate) Muckensturm, Matt (Michelle) Muckensturm, Melissa (Tom) Collins, John (Maryann) Wiegand, Shawn (Jess) Wiegand, Jeremy Wiegand, and Andrew, Mary, Anna, and Ellie Burnham;
19 great-grandchildren;
a sister, Dolores Sullivan;
and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Memorials may be made to St. Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Church, or to the Alzheimer’s Association. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may visit from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, October 9, 2020, at St. Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Church, Belleville, IL. Standard CDC guidelines, including masks and a limited number of visitors at any one time, will be observed.
Funeral: A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Friday, October 9, 2020, at St. Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Church, Belleville, IL, with Rev. Kenneth York officiating. Masks are required.
Private entombment will follow at Mount Carmel Mausoleum, Belleville, IL.