Gretna B. Michels

Gretna Burns Michels, 96, of Scott Depot, West Virginia, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2026. Born on July 2, 1929, in Hurricane, West Virginia, she was the daughter of the late Frederick Douglas Burns and Sallie Elizabeth Boggess Burns. The youngest and last surviving of the ten Burns children, Gretna’s passing marks the end of a remarkable generation of the Burns family of Hurricane.

Her early life was shaped by resilience. At the age of two, she survived a house fire that destroyed her family’s home on their farm outside Hurricane. She spent her childhood on that same farmland, which later became the site of Interstate 64, Valley Park, and part of the Hurricane Wave Pool Park.

In 1963, Gretna began working as a receptionist at the Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company in Charleston, remaining there until the plant closed in 1980. It was during those years that she met George Thomas “Tom” Michels, also an employee at the plant. Their relationship grew into a devoted marriage of 31 years after they wed on April 8, 1988. Tom preceded her in death in 2019.

Following the plant closure, Gretna worked as secretary to the West Virginia State Beer Commission beginning in 1981, retiring in the 1990s. She was a strong and independent woman who raised her daughter, Ann Frances Dodrill, as a single mother in Charleston, demonstrating deep commitment to her family. Gretna held a lifelong love for animals, especially cats, and in her later years found great joy in the company of her late daughter’s Pomeranian, Lulu.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband George Thomas “Tom” Michels, her daughter Ann Frances Dodrill, her stepson Thomas W. Michels, her stepdaughter Anne Wince, and her nine siblings: Agnes, Irene, Opal, Frances, Robert, Russell, Ray, Randall, and Richard.

Gretna is survived by her grandsons, Brandon R. Dodrill and Dylan R. (Makenzie) Dodrill; her great-granddaughters, Myla and Kylie Dodrill; her son-in-law, Dennis R. Dodrill; and several beloved nieces and nephews. Her family, especially her grandsons Brandon and Dylan, will miss their “Grandmaw” deeply and will forever cherish the memories they shared with her. With her passing, the final chapter of the Burns children of Hurricane comes to a close.