Funeral service for Johnnie Ruth Burse will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel.

Entombment will follow in the Chapel of Peace Mausoleum at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

The family will greet friends from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, on Tuesday at the funeral home.

The funeral service may be viewed by following the livestream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page.

Johnnie Ruth Burse, age 85, passed away at her home in Lawton, Oklahoma on Thursday, April 18, 2024 surrounded by family.  Johnnie was born on February 7, 1939, in Shelbyville, Texas, to Johnny and Lillian (Williams) McClelland. Her early years were spent in Joaquin, Texas, where she played on the school basketball team before graduating from high school.

After graduation, Johnnie moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, where she began her career as a nurse's aide at Comanche County Memorial Hospital. On September 30, 1965, Johnnie exchanged vows with John W. Burse in Wichita Falls, Texas. John preceded her in death on December 14, 2001.

Following John's death she continued her role as a caregiver by working as a care provider for disabled adults through the Great Plains Improvement Foundation until her retirement.

Left to cherish her memory are her seven children and their spouses, Debra Thompson, Lawton, Oklahoma, Evelyn and Bruce Schoenleber, Hampton, Georgia, Edward and Jill Williams, Sharpsburg, Georgia, Sharon Burse-Lee and Marcellus, Pomona, California, Jacqueline Woodard, Adelanto, California; Stacye Burse-Smith, Hampton, Georgia and Lucrsia Betancourt, Lawton, Oklahoma; 15 Grandchildren; 19 Great Grandchildren; two Great Great Grandsons; two sisters, Ida Marie Colbert and husband Nehemiah, Lawton, Oklahoma and Belinda Lampkin, Logansport, Louisiana; a brother, James McClelland and wife Debbie, Nacogdoches, Texas; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Her parents, a sister Lenice Littlejohn and a brother, Gary McClelland, preceded her in death.