Margaret M. Burns

Margaret Mary Hauke Burns, 91, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at The Legacy of North Augusta in Staunton.

Margaret was born on May 1, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, to the late Eleanor Anne and Henry George Hauke. She was the last surviving of seven siblings, to whom she was affectionately known as ‘Boots.’

Margaret was a strong, smart, funny, and loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. In the early 1960s, she worked full-time and completed a master’s degree at University of Michigan while caring for her infant daughter. This was a time when divorced women and single mothers faced discrimination. She spent 30 years as a librarian, then kindergarten teacher, at Warrendale Elementary in East Detroit, Michigan. She brought a love of reading and a foundation for learning to many young children.

After her retirement, she enjoyed travelling with her sisters and other family members and friends. She moved to Staunton to be near her daughter and granddaughters in the mid-1990s. She was a devout member of Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, serving in the Legion of Mary for many years, visiting the elderly and homebound in the community.

Margaret is survived by her daughter, Caroline Burns Sheridan, and son-in-law, Douglas Friend Sheridan; her granddaughters, Eleanor Rose Sheridan and her husband, Graham McCullough, and Martha LaBelle Sheridan and her partner, Brandon McKay. ‘Aunt Boots’ will be fondly remembered by her many nieces and nephews. Also, she will be missed by her dear friends, Marilyn Freck, Helga Fallis, Karen Knoll, Fran Fisher, Ellen Jamison, and many others.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings, George Henry Hauke, Rose Marie Hauke Powers, Francis Edward Hauke, Richard Louis Hauke, Alice Loretta Hauke Schrag, and Kathryn Ann Hauke Collier; as well as a special brother-in-law, William Leonard Schrag; and sisters-in-law, Ilsa Bertha Seyfried Hauke and Kathleen Armstrong Hauke, who were like her own siblings. A nephew, Daniel James Schrag and great niece, Ashley M. Loudenback, also preceded her in death.

A funeral mass will be conducted at 12:00 PM on Friday, June 20, 2025, at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Staunton, followed by a reception with the family in Assisi Hall.

A private inurnment will be held at a later date in Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of The Legacy of North Augusta and the Augusta Health Hospice of the Shenandoah for their tender care.

Memorial donations may be given to Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish (118 North New Street, Staunton, VA 24401) or to the Friends of the Staunton Library (1 Churchville Avenue, Staunton, Virginia 24401).