Jana Gay Burkeen

Jana Gay Burkeen (or “Jan” as she was called by her husband), passed away at her home in Groesbeck, on Monday, November 6, 2023, ending her strong and lengthy battle with cancer, at age 66.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 9, 2023, in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with Reverend Tracy Sims of the Central Baptist Church of Thornton officiating.   Burial will follow in Union Cemetery (Freestone County.)

Jana was born February 19, 1957, in Limestone County to Reginald Williams and Aleen McGee Williams, the youngest of their five children.    She grew up in Groesbeck and graduated from Groesbeck High School in the Class of 1975.

Jana was united in marriage with her high school sweetheart, David Earl Burkeen, on March 15, 1975.   They met when she was 14 and he was 17, and after dating for the next four years, they married when she turned 18.

David and Jana made their home in Groesbeck where they raised their two children.   Jana worked at the Mexia State School for about 30 years.  After her children were grown, she helped raise her two granddaughters, Savannah and Kaylie.   They will remember her dearly, for the happy times she spent singing and dancing around the house with them and just acting silly, and also the girlie times coloring and painting their nails. 

Jana and David were members of the Central Baptist Church of Thornton.  The grandchildren’s “Nana” is loved and will never be forgotten, and it is the family’s hope that she is watching over them and singing with the angels in heaven.

Jana is preceded in death by her parents, Reg and Aleen Williams, and two brothers, Stanley Williams and Phil Williams.

She is survived by her husband, David Burkeen of Groesbeck; son and daughter-in-law, Shawn and Sarah Burkeen of Denver, Colorado; daughter, Jennifer Burkeen of Groesbeck; granddaughters, Savannah Williams of Groesbeck and Kaylie Williams of Thornton; grandsons, Noah Burkeen of Groesbeck, Levi Burkeen of Denver and new baby, Uriah Burkeen of Denver.   She is also survived by her sister, Martha Johnson of Thornton; sister and brother-in-law, Debra and Randy Franklin of Thornton; and sisters-in-law, Orma Williams and Kay Williams; and nieces and nephews.