It was a cold day in February-February 13, 1928 to be exact, when Susie Jane made her entrance into this world. Born to Joseph L. and Mary (Hall) Burt. Jane was the baby and completed the Burt clan. She joined sisters, Frances, Lavaughn and Ruth; and brother, Clinton. Joseph or “Papa” was a tall handsome hard working farmer. Mary or “Mama” was a kind gentle woman who passed these qualities onto her children. Papa raised corn, cotton, cattle and fat hogs!
Jane walked to Smetana School through a neighbor’s place, alongside the Smetana Cemetery, on Smetana Road and crossed over what is now State Highway 21. She graduated in 1946 and if she had a nickel she would go to the Smetana Store at recess.
She married James Antone “Jim” Fuschak on August 18, 1947 in Bryan, Texas at a little Baptist Church. He was 22 and she was 19. After they married, they lived with their parents for a while. They stayed a few days with the Burt’s, then they stayed a few days with Fuschak’s.
She learned to be an excellent cook and an expert seamstress. She sewed countless dresses, skirts, blouses, bedspreads, draperies and curtains. Jim loved cattle and horses. Together they raised huge gardens which meant work for their children.
Jane is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jim Fuschak; and her sisters and brother.
She is survived by her daughters, and son-in-law, Linda and Randy Strickland, Laura and Lee Wills; son and daughter-in-law, Olan and Monica Fuschak; six grandchildren and their spouses, Lindsay and Jeremy Strickland, Cody and Jade Fuschak, Shelby and Josh Ryczek, Kyle and Robyn Wills, Kristen and Ivan Cuellar, Kelsey and Sach Purswani; nine great-grandchildren, Jack, Harper, Eleanora, Amelia, Jonah, Sutton, Elizabeth Kate, Korie, Kamryn and a baby girl on the way.
Visitation will be held Friday, July 10, from 9:30am until 11:00am at the First Pentecostal Church in Bryan. The funeral service will immediately follow the visitation at 11:00 am. Interment will be at the Smetana Cemetery.
Our dear Grandmother, “Meme”, embodied the fruits of the spirt. She was loving, imbued with a quiet joy, filled with peace, kind and good to all, faithful in so many ways, patient to no end and self-controlled. Beyond this she was funny and welcoming, and easy to be around. Meme was an introverted person. She preferred to listen rather than speak, but when she did speak, it was always filled with love and wisdom. She didn’t like being the center of attention, but she was the type of person who absolutely deserve it. She paid close attention to detail, had more common sense than anyone, was innovative, and filled with curiosity and wit. She was a strong woman of faith and fortitude. We learned how to serve our families from watching her serve ours selflessly through the years. Our lives overflow with memories of her that we will each cherish for the remainder of our days.
In lieu of flowers, please plant a crepe myrtle tree in memory of Jane.
“Her children rise up and call her blessed” – Proverbs 31:28
