Mildred H. BURG

Mildred Burg August 7, 1916 - January 4, 2012 Mildred Burg was born Helen Mildred Garves on August 7, 1916 in rural Macon county Missouri. She lived her early years on a farm near the town of Woodville in the SE corner of the county. As a young girl she moved to Detroit Michigan to live with her mother and sister Ruby. Mildred as she preferred to be known, passed away on January 4th in Lake Fenton, Michigan after a brief illness. During her young adult years she lived and traveled to a number of places including Colorado Springs, and Cincinnati. While in Cincinnati she worked at one point sewing uniforms for the war effort. She also worked in a bank and developed a keen knowledge of book keeping. After WWII she returned to her mother in Detroit and worked as a sewing girl in a large local upholstery shop, where she met her husband Russel who was one of the upholsters also employed there. After a brief courtship they married on September 11, 1948, and had a single child, Richard, the following year. Mildred's sewing abilities and book keeping sense plus Russ' upholstery skills lead them to open their own business about 1950. At first working out of their garage, with furniture being picked up and delivered with rental trailers. Soon they opened a store at the corner of Schoolcraft and Grand River Avenues in Detroit which was named Schoolcraft Decorating, and they up graded to a pickup truck. In about 1963 the business experienced an almost ten fold increase in size when they purchased Golden Rule Upholstery (where they had first worked and met). Operations moved to the Golden Rule's buildings and for the next few years Mildred made a conscious effort to trim the size of the operations down to a more manageable size, culminating in a move back to a store front near the original Schoolcraft and Grand river location. She worked well into her 70's, although at a reduced level, and finally retired in 1989 to a condo in South Lyon, Michigan for a well deserved rest. She was preceded in death by her Father, William Arthur Graves, and Mother Stella Mae Willey, and step Father Ralph Willey, and one sister Betty Harlan. She is survived by her husband Russel, son Richard, three, sisters, Mary Sue, Juanita, and Pat, three grand children Ray, Alice(Bea), and Richard(Dirk), and three great grand children. Funeral services will be held 1:00 PM Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at Sharp Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 6063 Fenton Road, Flint, MI. Visitation will be held from 12:00 PM until the time of service. Internment will be at Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens, 43300 12 Mile Rd., Novi, MI.

Visitation

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Sharp Funeral Home & Cremation Center
6063 Fenton Road Flint 48507, United States

Funeral Service

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 1:00 PM
Sharp Funeral Home & Cremation Center
6063 Fenton Road Flint 48507, United States