Elizabeth “Betty” Lugo Burwell passed away on April 10, 2026, in Statesville, N.C., with her family by her side. She was born on May 22, 1944, in Manhattan, N.Y., to the late Rafael Lugo and Rita (Suarez) Lugo. A child of Puerto Rican immigrants, Betty was the first person in her family born in the United States. She grew up in New York City with her little sister Carmen before the family moved to Miami, Fla., when she was 14 years old. Betty met the love of her life, Orville Jan “Bo” Burwell at North Miami High School. After graduation, Bo and Betty were married on October 21, 1962, at Fort Benning, Ga. They had their first child, Debra Ann (Burwell) Hager, at Fort Riley, Kan., before Bo was deployed to Vietnam.
Bo and Betty started their post-Vietnam lives in Miami with Debbie before having two more children, the late Lisa Rae (Burwell) Aldritch and son, Bill Ray Burwell. After a move to Cincinnati, Ohio, her youngest son, Scott Allen Burwell was born, before their relocation to Statesville, N.C. In Statesville, Betty was an active member of Fairview Baptist Church. She worked at Niemands as a United Textile Worker before a move to Virginia, where she worked for Best Buy’s logistics network. After decades of being a working mother of four, doing much of the parenting alone with Bo gone on trucking runs, they retired to a quiet, private piece of land out in the country in North Iredell in 2003. It was exactly what they worked for their entire lives.
After retirement Betty became an integral member of Rocky Hill Baptist Church. As a member of Baptist Women’s Organization, she volunteered her time and served her community through food drives, organizing assistance for missionaries, visiting old folks homes, and spreading the love and light of Jesus Christ. She spent her golden years spoiling her grandchildren while tending her flowers and vegetable gardens while always showing love and understanding to her fellow human beings without judgment.
She is survived by six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and many loving friends and family. She was an example of what a Christian woman should be; strong, determined, resourceful, but also loving, kind, selfless, faithful and devoted. She joins her husband of 64 years and her beloved daughter Lisa in paradise. She will be missed by her immediate and church families. We are lesser for having lost her.
Services will be held at Rocky Hill Baptist Church at 825 Mountain View Road, Statesville, NC 28625, on Friday, April 17. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m., and the service will begin at 3 p.m. Flowers may be sent to Nicholson Funeral Home at 135 East Front Street, Statesville, NC 28677. Donations may be made in Betty’s honor to Rocky Hill Baptist Church.
Nicholson Funeral Home is serving the family.