Luella Granny Lu Ritter Burleson

On Nov. 30, 2012, just 20 days shy of her 91st birthday, Luella (Granny Lu) Ritter Burleson went to be with the Lord. She passed away at the Stuttgart Medical Center following a stroke. She is survived by two sons, Dr. James Burleson (wife Melba) and Dr. Stanley Burleson (wife Debbie); six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, all of Arkansas. She is also survived by one brother Dr. Fred Ritter (wife Dorothy) and one sister Florence (husband Don) Anderson both of California. She is preceded in death by parents, Carl and Lydia (Ackermann) Ritter; husband, James Roy Burleson; daughter, Joan White; brothers, Tommy and Norman Ritter and sisters Eileen Nelson and Frances Molin. In her youth she was a city girl living in Wishek, N.D., growing up as the oldest of seven children. She worked hard helping her mother with chores and the smaller kids. She started making her famous homemade rolls at a very early age. In high school she loved drama and she got the lead roll in the high school play "Murdered Alive" in 1939 because she had the best fake sneeze! While in Wishek she taught school for two years in a one room school house before becoming a nurse's aide. As an aide a tall country soldier boy who was her patient asked for her hand in marriage. She refused because she never wanted to live on a farm. After moving to California, a blue eyed soldier changed her mind about farm life. James Roy Burleson proposed to her on her parent's anniversary. The couple was wed in Lodi, Calif. on April 9, 1944. The couple relocated to the Burleson farm in Carlisle, Ark. and started a family. She grew to love the farm and enjoyed swinging on the front porch and long walks down the levy. She lived on the farm until a few short years ago when she moved to Chambers Nursing Home in Carlisle. Luella was a member of Hebron Methodist Church where she used to play piano and teach Sunday school. She was known for her cooking - cabbage rolls, grape juice, homemade yeast rolls, squirrel with gravy, matzo ball soup, fried catfish, coca cola cake and much more. She spent the evenings sitting in her favorite chair crocheting, cracking pecans, shelling peas, or snapping beans. But her nails were always filed and polished even after picking a mess of something from the garden and her hair was never a mess. Strength, courage, determination and love are all words that describe this wonderful woman. If there was a poisonous snake in the yard, she grabbed a can of Raid and sprayed the snake until it was woozy, then chopped it up with a hoe. She also never let a stray kitten go hungry. Her positive attitude carried her throughout her life and she held on to her memory until her last breath making sure her loved ones knew she heard them and loved them. Graveside Services will be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2 at Hebron Cemetery. Online guestbook, www.boydfuneralhome.net.