Burns, Laurie (Franks)

As the leader of the Coffee High School golf team for four years, Laura led the Jackets to their only state golf championship in 1986. In 1988, she won the Alabama Women’s State Amateur Championship, becoming the only north Alabama winner of the tournament since 1951. She won many Ladies Invitational tournaments and was the Florence Golf and Country Club’s Junior and Ladies champion. She was a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association for 14 years and served as the assistant golf professional at Florence Country Club. She also conducted many golf clinics in Birmingham, Huntsville, Lawrenceburg and Florence, providing many memorable moments for those she taught. She passed away in 2005 of pulmonary thrombosis at age 37.