Patsy Nell Burnham

Patsy Nell (Tyner) Burnham

June 16, 1930 – March 9, 2026

Patsy Burnham was born June 16, 1930 to Dewey and Marie Tyner, the younger of two children, and was raised in the small Texas town of Currie, in Navarro County.

Patsy’s early years were spent living near the small town of Currie, but eventually her parents moved the family to the “city” of Wortham, Texas, where she graduated high school. During that time Patsy worked in her grandparent’s grocery store in Corsicana, where she met David Burnham, who was delivering ice to the local merchants. Patsy enrolled in Navarro College in Corsicana and graduated in 1949 with an Associate’s Degree. She and David continued their courtship by writing letters to each other while David was enlisted in the United States Navy. David wrote Patsy a letter asking her to marry him and she replied, “I will marry you in ’52’.” The two got married that year at the First Baptist Church in Wortham and moved to Kingsville, Texas, where David completed his full-time enlistment in the United States Navy and Patsy worked in the catalog department at Sears. While living in Kingsville, Patsy also completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M – Kingsville).

Patsy and David’s first son, David, was born in 1959, and their second son Dan, was born in 1963. After Patsy’s husband, David, left full time enlistment in the Navy, the family moved to the Oak Cliff part of Dallas to be close to David’s work at Trailways Transportation System. While living in Oak Cliff, they joined Cliff Temple Baptist Church, and Patsy remained an active member until just a couple of years before her passing. She loved her church and so enjoyed being an active member for close to 60 years.

The family moved to DeSoto in 1968, and soon after, Patsy found her first job in direct sales. Working for Avon was something Patsy loved to do, as it allowed her to earn extra money and visit with her friends and neighbors, sharing a cup of coffee and maybe a little town gossip at the same time. Many times, Patsy was one of the first to know if a customer was getting ready to make a move across the town or another city. She would call up a favorite realtor she knew and share the inside scoop of an upcoming possible listing.

In 1977, Patsy was encouraged by her real estate friends to get her own real estate license and enjoy the commissions on all the leads she was giving to others. To say Patsy loved working in real estate would be an understatement. When not on vacation, she would go to the office six days a week and Sundays after church. She sold real estate for over 30 years.

The only thing she enjoyed more than selling real estate (and cleaning house) was going traveling with her husband David. After David retired in 1986, taking a cruise or going to Branson, Missouri was their hobby together. Many times, they would book their next cruise while still on day six of their current one.

After Patsy’s retirement from real estate sales in 2007, she still felt the desire to work (she said, “After all I’m only 77!”). Patsy volunteered at the reception desk in the labor and delivery department of Charlton Methodist Hospital. She did this long enough to receive her 10 year anniversary volunteer pin.

Patsy is survived by her sons David and Dan Burnham and Dan’s wife Judie, as well as by four grandchildren, Jennifer Owens (and her husband, Chris Owens), Glen Burnham (and his wife, Estrellita “Star” Burnham), Julia Burnham and Jared Burnham, and four great-grandchildren, Tristen Owens, Emma Burnham, Mila Burnham, and Layla Burnham. She is proceeded in death by her beloved husband of 73 years, William “David” Burnham.