Janet Sue Walsh Burns

Janet Sue Burns (née Walsh), aged 83, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2025, in Burton Court Memory Care of Nashville, TN, after a long illness. Jan was born on September 14, 1941, in Fostoria, OH, where she grew up attending St. Wendelin Catholic School. After completing a dental hygiene program at Ohio State University, she relocated to Cleveland for work, where she met Charles Patrick “Pat” Burns, whom she married in the summer of 1968. Soon after, Jan matriculated at Kent State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology. In 1971, she gave birth to Charles Geoffrey “Geoff” Burns before moving with her family to Iowa City, IA. Two years later, Jan gave birth to Scott Patrick Burns. During her early years in Iowa City, Jan was a caring mother while also earning a Master of Science Degree in Educational Psychology and Statistics from the University of Iowa. Thereafter, she became a faculty member in the UI Dental Hygiene Program, where she trained aspiring hygienists until the program was discontinued in 1991. In the early 1980s, Jan and her family spent a unique and enriching year living in the Hampstead neighborhood of London, while also traveling to several other European cities, creating many fond memories. Jan spent the rest of her career selling residential real estate with Hilgenberg, Cilek, Hintz, and Hupfeld (later Coldwell Banker), until the mid-2000s. For retirement, Jan and Pat moved to the Sea Pines community of Hilton Head Island, SC, where Jan enjoyed playing tennis and canasta with friends, dining at local restaurants with Pat, and hosting out-of-town family and friends in a beach community they adored. In 2022, Jan and Pat relocated to Nashville, where Pat still resides.

Jan is remembered as a loving and devoted wife, a caring and proud mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, as well as an outgoing, kind, and genuine soul who was unconditionally loyal and supportive of friends and family alike.

She is survived by her loving and devoted husband of almost 57 years, Pat Burns; sons, Geoff Burns (Caroline) of Newton, MA, and Scott Burns (Meredith) of Nashville; and grandchildren, Lilyanne Ruth Burns, Charlotte Caroline Burns, and Griffin Andrew Burns. She is also survived by her nephews, Thomas “Tom” Grine (Karla) and Theodore “Ted” Grine (Robin), of Fostoria, as well as her niece, Lisa Fretti (Paul), of Toledo, OH.  She is preceded in death by her parents, Timothy Edmund and Lillian Roberta Walsh (née Blake), her sister, Carol Ann Grine (Vernon “Barney”), and nephew, Timothy “Tim” Grine (Louanne), all formerly of Fostoria.

Jan’s life will be celebrated with a private scattering of her ashes. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to support Alzheimer’s disease research. The family would like to thank the staff at Burton Court Memory Care of Blakeford at Green Hills for providing exceptional care for their loved one during her final years.

Arrangements in the care of Compassion Funeral & Cremation Services, Nashville, TN (615) 857-9955. We proudly remain locally owned & operated.