Priscilla Jeanette "Jan" (Grimes) Burkholder

Priscilla Jeanette Burkholder, 67, passed away on March 07, 2022 at Memorial Hospital at Stone County in Wiggins. She was born September 06, 1954 in Ripley, TN, part of a set of twins, and the third of four children to parents Oscar Hilton and Winnie Lee (Worley) Grimes. Jan grew up in Ripley, a small, Western Tennessee town where she enjoyed riding horses and music. She had a wonderful voice and loved to sing and play the harp. Jan enjoyed jigsaw puzzles from an early age, and the more complicated the better she loved it. Her father was a pastor and Jan became a Christian at an early age. She loved the Lord and had a heart for children, working and serving in children's ministry for many years. She graduated from Ripley High School with the Class of 1972, and went on to USM where she obtained her BS in Elementary Education, while her father pastored in Laurel. Jan returned to Ripley after her father passed away, to be close to her mother. She met Lamar Burkholder in Dyersburg, TN, where he was serving as Youth Pastor. They were married a couple of years later, making their first home in Paris, AR. Moving around and serving churches in AR, TN, and finally to Wiggins, MS in 2002, they have been at New Covenant Assembly of God, and an active part of the local community for twenty years. Jan has taught first grade at Gateway Christian Academy for the past seven years, and also at Liberty Pre-School for a few years prior to that. Both her and Lamar were instrumental in helping Perico's Mexican Grill get established in Wiggins, but Jan's heart was children. She loved teaching and mentoring kids, and devoted her life to that. She is remembered as the most devoted and caring wife and mother anyone could ask for. She was a definite prayer warrior, and would pray for anyone, anywhere, at any time. A selfless mother, she was some kind of protective of her children. Jan loved them, but they always knew something wasn't right when she pointed at them. Her grandkids, well let's just say she loved them all the more! She encouraged them all to not just dream, but to dream big. A great counselor, she was honest and straightforward, to a fault at times, but you always knew where you stood with Jan. She journaled every day, and wrote her final entry Monday morning, simply asking God for more of His wisdom. Jan will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by all who knew and loved her. She was preceded by her parents, Hilton and Winnie Grimes. Left to cherish her memories are: her loving husband of over 38 years, Rev. Lamar Burkholder; their children, daughters, Britney (Dustin) Kaufman of Purvis, Tara (Jeff) Delancy of Lucedale, and Alethia (Andre) Lange of Chipley, FL, with sons Hilton (Brooke) Burkholder of Lakeland, FL and Sam (Ornella) Tomtania of Canada; her siblings, Brenda Maharrey (Sister) , Ann Grimes (Sister) , and Cindy (Dan) Day (Sister). Jan leaves a legacy of eight grandchildren: Avigail, Olivia, Jasper, Bailey, Bradley, Zackery, Henry, and Audrey, with numerous extended family, friends, and untold numbers of children she has taught over the years. Jan's final wishes were to be cremated, which her family is honoring. Services will be held Sunday, March 13th at Vardaman Street Baptist Church in Wiggins, with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM, followed by the funeral celebration set for 2:00 PM, with her cousin, Darrell Worley officiating. All whose life she touched are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Freedom Fund of Teen Challenge Mississippi in Jan's honor, to assist women struggling with life-controlling issues as part of her legacy. Trinity Funeral Services is honored to serve the Burkholder family in their time of need, and asks everyone to keep Bro. Lamar and all of them in your thoughts and prayers through this trying time.

Teen Challenge of Mississippi
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