Jennie V. Burris

Jennie V. Burris (née Fiorilli), age 95, longtime resident of Blount County, passed away Sunday, July 18, 2021 at Blount Memorial Transitional Care Center. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Italian immigrant parents and as a young woman worked in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, assembling military planes during WWII. In Philadelphia she met her future husband Bill, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, and after the war’s end, the couple married and moved to Tennessee, eventually settling in Maryville. She loved her Tennessee and Philadelphia families, and kept her heart in both places. She was happiest when traveling. With her husband, she visited the entire country as well as many locations abroad. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband William (Bill) O. Burris, Jr.; parents Ermindo and Filomena Fiorilli; and six brothers and sisters.

She is survived by one sister, Esther Bowe, Philadelphia, PA; daughter Virginia Milligan, Maryville, TN; son and daughter-in-law, William O. Burris, III and Betty Jane, Kingsport, TN; grandsons Dr. Gerry Milligan and husband Ben Medley, Jersey City, NJ; Colonel Bradford Burris and wife Cheryl, Washington, D.C.; Blake Burris, Johnson City, TN; and Barton Burris, Johnson City, TN; great-grandson Bodhi Burris, Johnson City, TN; and many special nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to St. Jude Hospital, one of Jennie’s preferred charities, or SMILES, a local charity that assists seniors living in Blount County, Tennessee.