Rea Hall Burch

Rea Hall Burch, age 80 of Asheboro died Tuesday, September 25, 2012, at Woodland Hill Care and Rehabilitation Center, Asheboro. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2012, at 11:30 AM at the Chapel at Pugh Funeral Home with the Rev. Rodney Otwell officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. Rea was born on January 26, 1932, in Darlington, South Carolina. After high school graduation, she briefly worked at Klopman Mills in Rockingham. She met her husband-to-be at a square dance in South Carolina. As a young woman she enjoyed many activities such as square dancing, skating, and bowling. She married Rufus E. Burch, Jr., in 1953 and together they raised four children, instilling in them the values of integrity, hard work and education. Rea was a lifelong Christian and attended First Baptist Church of Asheboro. She was a stay-at-home Mom for many years, serving as chief administrator of the family household. Her strong skills/qualities of organization, leadership, creativity, perseverance, eagerness to learn and apply new skills served Rea and her family well. Reading was a lifelong pleasure for her. She became an excellent seamstress, making clothes for her family and others. When her children were older, she returned to the work world, serving as first a nursing assistant and later as nursing secretary at what was then called Brian Center. She received a lot of enjoyment from her work, but was glad to retire and join her husband in the art of wood carving. Old World Santas were her specialty; she carved over 1000 Santas, which became highly sought after collectables --selling most of them at local craft shows and sharing many with family and friends. During retirement, Rea gave of her time through many years of volunteer service to Our Daily Bread Kitchen and Hospice of Randolph County, Inc. Rea was preceded in death by her parents, Carl Lee Hall and Myrtle Mae Barber Hall; husband Rufus E. Burch, Jr.; siblings, Fitzhugh Hall, Thelma Hall Dooly, Sheila Hall, Juanita Hall, John Mark Hall, Malcolm Hall, Dorothy Hall, Eugene Hall, Alma Hall Stermer, Edsel Hall, and Homer Hall. Surviving are her children: son, Rick Burch of Columbia, South Carolina; son, Rod Burch of Durham, son, Randy Burch of Charlotte; daughter, Rhonda Burch Moffitt and husband Bruce of Asheboro, granddaughter, and beloved grandchild, Lyndsay Burch, a student at Elon University; and sister, Ola Hall Carter of Cloverdale, California. Special gratitude to Dr. Christine McCarty and The Randolph Cancer Center staff for their years of expertise and loving care, and also to Woodland Hill Care and Rehabilitation staff for the compassionate care provided for Rea. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Randolph County, P.O. Box 9, Asheboro, NC, 27204 and Our Daily Bread Kitchen, PO Box 682, Asheboro, NC 27204. Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro is serving the Burch family