Sally Christine Dockery-Burns

It is with profound sadness that the family of Christine Burns of Canton, Georgia announces her passing from this world into the eternal presence of the Lord. Christine died on October 27, 2026. She was 88 years old. Christine was born on April 4, 1938 to the late Oliver Jacob Dockery and Bessie Ashe-Dockery in Murphy, North Carolina and was the youngest of their six children.

When she was born, family lore is that she weighed less than four pounds. Both the baby and her mother had red measles. The doctor thought neither would make it. She survived though and proved to be a fighter; a trait she would need again late in life. She was a 1955 graduate of Murphy High School. As a student she worked for Parker’s Drug Store in Murphy and later for the Farmer’s Federation, also in Murphy.

In 1956, she met Henry Dale Burns of Blairsville, Georgia who’d just returned from the US Air Force, having been stationed in Tokyo, Japan. They were married in 1958 and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta she worked for C&S Bank on Mitchell Street until the birth of her first child. In the 1970s, she returned to work at Orkin Pest Control in Decatur and later at Gwinnett County Government in Lawrenceville. She retired from Gwinnett County in 1994 to reluctantly travel with her husband. He loved it. She didn’t.

She was a wonderful mother and wife who enjoyed sewing which she was quite good at, working outside in her flowers, and most of all cooking for her family. That was also a skill she was most adept at. She loved all of her family fiercely and loved keeping up with what everyone was doing. The highlight of her year was to combine her love of cooking good food with her love of family and to celebrate holidays in true southern fashion with a feast. Those times remain unforgettable for all. She was a member of Canton First Baptist Church where Sundays were a highlight of her week. She truly loved the Lord and believed in taking all her troubles to Him. Her “let’s just pray about it” mantra is a trait she ingrained in her children. She fully exemplified the life of a Christian mother but in a quiet, humble manner. She always preferred the back benches to the front at church but her presence brought with it a deep love for Jesus and His church, the depths of which maybe only her family fully understood.

She died from complications of dementia but not before proving her strength and resilience to the surprise of her doctors. She fought time and again with the same vengeance she learned at birth.

She is survived by her children, Jeffrey Burns and Douglas Burns, both of Canton, Georgia. Also surviving is one sister, Jane Dockery-Eason of Marietta, Georgia as well as many nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her parents, her brother James Lester Dockery, brother Lowen Dockery, and sisters Hazel Dockery-Herndon and Wilma Dockery.

A funeral service will be held on November 3rd, 2026 in the chapel of Darby Funeral Home in Canton, Georgia at 2:00 PM with the Reverend George Anderson and Reverend Eddis Dockery officiating. Burial with follow at Macedonia Memorial Park in Canton. A period of visitation will be held before the service beginning at 12:00 PM.