Cornelia W. Burts

10/19/2007

Cornelia W. Burts, 89, formerly of South Dennis, died Friday at Fairview Commons Nursing Home, where she had lived for more than a year. She was the mother of Nina Foppe of Alford. Born in Arcadia, La., on Dec. 1, 1917, daughter of Lonnie M. and Josie Saunders Wilson, she attended schools in El Dorado, Ark., and Apex Beauty College in New York City, where she was voted Miss Apex of 1942. Among the few African-American single women to open a business in New York City, Mrs. Burts established the Cornelia Beauty Salon in 1942 and operated it for 10 years before becoming an interior designer for Bloomingdale's in New York City. During the 1950s, she traveled across the country and to Canada by train to expose her children to various locations before integration allowed African-Americans to patronize certain establishments. She was an active member of the Legion of Mary in New York and the Blue Army on Cape Cod, both Catholic women's volunteer groups. She was a communicant of a Catholic church on the Cape. She and her husband, the late Tomseen Burts, were married in New York City in 1947. They also owned a home in South Dennis. Besides her daughter, she leaves a sister, Billie Fay Shofner of Dallas. A son, Ashton Foppe, is deceased. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Cornelia W. Burts, who died Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, will be celebrated Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church by the Rev. William Murphy. Burial will follow in St. Peter's Cemetery in Great Barrington. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington. Donations in her memory may be made to either HospiceCare in the Berkshires or to the United Negro Fund through the funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Mrs. Burts also leaves two nephews, Merriweather Aiken and Alvin Ray; a niece, Carol Ann Shutes; five great-nephews, Ronnie, Eric and Jarard Aiken, Elgin Wilson III and Demetrus Wilson; four great-nieces, Penda Aiken, Tandra Watson, Phyllis Weekes and Sydal Walker; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Ethel and Mrs. Onnie Wilson; and a host of other relatives, including Kijo Aiken and Linda Aiken Thomas, Michael and Myles Watson, Danielle and Selina Weekes, Kwashea Wilson and Takesha Wilson, and friends. She was predeceased by two sisters, Johnnie Wilson Aiken and Mattie Lee Flunders; five brothers, Lonnie, Elgin, Lagurtia and Lewis Wilson, and Gaines Duty; a nephew, Elgin Wilson II; and a great-niece, Rene Wilson. In her later years, she advised and encouraged young people to be entrepreneurs, and several of her nieces and nephews own businesses or chose professional careers such as law and business. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.

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Cornelia W. Burts

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