Imogene McGalin Burton Obituary Oct. 25, 1942 - May 3, 2024

Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure, you are loved beyond words and will be missed beyond measure.

Imogene McGalin Burton was born in Kirbyville, TX on October 25, 1942 and went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 3, 2024. She was the second youngest of 5 children, attended Buna Schools, and made her home in the southeast, TX area for most of her life, then living in Gatesville, Temple, and finally Denison for the last 30. She wore many hats in the working world, as a stay at home mom with her boys for many years, a hairstylist, a convenience store manager, and a bank receptionist. She spent her life looking for love, and although she gave it her best effort, never quite found her forever love in the form of a husband…but she said many times that “the men in her life weren’t the loves of her life, but gave her the loves of her life” in her children, so she could never be sorry for the place they held in her story. She was a devout Christian, accepting Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and savior at a young age, and continued to grow her relationship with him until the day he called her home.

Imogene, known to many as “Jeanne,” was the most loving, nurturing, compassionate, wise, fiercely protective, sassiest, most kind-hearted, beautiful person you could ever meet. She was a great listener and gave the most sage advice up until the last months of her life. She was a survivor, having overcome more challenges and obstacles than most people ever have to endure in a lifetime, but she did it all while keeping her beautiful smile and “spitfire” red-headed personality intact. She taught her children to “survive at all costs;” that life would inevitably knock them down, but never to stay down for long, that there’s a lot of living left to do. She felt that preparedness and prayer were the best ways to combat all the trials and tribulations of life, to never be caught without a plan a, b, and c. For everyone who knew her, she was the lady with the sparkliest clothes, biggest smile, most immaculately styled hair and she never met a rhinestone or lacey outfit she didn’t love. Her style was as colorful as her personality! You would never catch Imogene at the store in sweatpants or without her hair and makeup done…ever. She believed in dressing for the day you want to have, not the day you’re having. She was an amazing southern cook who could make a pot of gumbo, chicken and dressing, and yeast rolls that would “make ya want to slap your Mama,” as she would say ...she was always ready with a good ole funny southern saying. She had a heart for the underdog, as she herself had been one so many times, but was also the world’s best cheerleader, believing in and lifting up others when they couldn’t find the strength to believe in themselves.

Family was everything to Imogene, and her greatest joy and purpose in life was to be a mother. She was a devoted “Mama/Mom/Mother” to her 5 children, grandma to 10, great grandma to 12, with two more on the way, and a beloved “Aunt Imogene” to many special nieces and nephews, most especially to her “bonus daughter,” Ladonna Penrod, who was by her side holding her hand to the very end. The children she leaves behind (from oldest to youngest) are her sons Jerry F. Johnson, Jr. and his wife Sissy of Silsbee, Greg Johnson and his wife Darlene of Vidor, and her two daughters Darla Compton and her husband Dempsey of Nacogdoches, and Nikki Silva and her son Grayson of Frisco. Her grandchildren include Chris Johnson, Jennifer Johnson, Jaycee Chaisson, Ragan Croft, Richard Derek Read, Rachel Mark, Courtney Compton, Clancey Compton, Clayton Compton, Cy Compton, and “her baby” boy, Grayson Gregory Silva. Her great grandchildren include Kennedy, Izzy, Grayson Matthew, Anna, Brystol, Braxton, Jocylena, Carter, Maddyn, Ridge, Hayes, Ellis and the yet to be born, Halle Jayde, and Cahl Ridge..

She is preceded in death and is now surrounded in heaven by her mother Artie McGalin Fuqua, father Perry McGalin, her beloved son Richard “Richie” Derryl Johnson, her angel baby Jeanne Amanda, grand daughter Brittany Liane, her sister-in-law Dianne McGalin, and her siblings, Laverne Jordan, Willie Mae Jeans, Betty Jo Capps, and Larry Ray McGalin.

While we deeply grieve the loss of our beautiful mother, we rejoice with her as she joins her father in heaven, surrounded by all of her loved ones; pain, anxiety, and fear free, safe in the arms of Jesus!

Funeral service will be 3 pm Saturday, May 11, 2024 at Adams EE Stringer Funeral Home in Buna with burial at Antioch Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 1 pm prior to service.

A million times

I've needed you

A million times I've cried,

If love alone

Could have saved you

You never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,

In death I love you still.

In my heart you hold a place,

No one else can ever fill.

It broke my heart to lose you,

But you didn't go alone