Robert V. Burns Funeral Home named a winner for their “Free Funeral Give Away”. The lucky winner was Kenneth A. Wilson of Strattanville.

The drawing was held on Saturday, November 12, 2011, at Robert V. Burns Funeral Home’s annual Flag Retirement Ceremony. Wilson was not present for the drawing, but was immediately notified by Rollie Burns with the good news that he had just won a free funeral.

Wilson was shocked that he won, but claims, “He’s not the real winner, his wife, Nancy, is. She will be the one that gets to enjoy it.”

Wilson became the first winner of the Robert V. Burns Funeral Home Free Funeral Giveaway, which is valued up to $6,000. The free funeral includes a typical viewing, the funeral, a casket or urn, and funeral supplies.

"It finally sunk in when I met with him," Burns said. "This prize is comparable to winning a free life insurance policy. We appreciate how the community is there for us, so we wanted to give something back to the community."

For Wilson, winning this contest was more about being prepared. “It’s reassuring, because I don’t want my wife to worry about anything,” says Wilson, “But I don’t plan on using it for a long time, because I’m going to live until I’m 90!”

Burns said “I couldn’t believe the positive response we got from the community. We had a just over a hundred contestants, but unfortunately only one could win. We love to support the community, and it’s great that we were able to give away this prize to Ken.”

Since the giveaway was such a great success, the Robert V. Burns Funeral Home plans to continue to do a giveaway again next year.