Barbara Watts Burgess

FLORENCE Barbara Watts Burgess, 85, died Saturday, July 11, 2015, in a local health care facility after an illness.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 14, 2015, at Waters-Powell Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, at Mountville Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mountville, SC.

She was born in Mountville, SC, a daughter of the late Lodie Troy and Emma Louise Smith Watts. A graduate of Lander College, she was a nurse at Greenville General Hospital before moving to Florence in 1953. In Florence, she was a member of First Baptist Church. Mrs. Burgess was a professional fundraiser and dedicated a significant amount of her efforts to the American Cancer Society. She was responsible for bringing Bob Hope to Florence for a benefit for Pee Dee Speech and Hearing.

She was predeceased by her husband, James Leon Burgess, Jr., in 2005.

She is survived by a son, James Leon Lee Burgess, III, of Florence; and two nieces, Mary Lou Drummond of Greenwood, SC, and Rachel Ann Nichols of Clinton, SC.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 300 S. Irby St., Florence, SC 29501.

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