HERMON – Phyllis Burgess died peacefully July 23, 2010, while surrounded by her loving family at a Bangor hospital. She was born Nov. 7, 1927, in Hermon, daughter of Perley and Alice (Edminster) Gordon. Phyllis was a lifelong resident of Hermon and spent most of those years as a homemaker, tending the family farm and raising her six children. Phyllis never met a person she disliked, which accounted for the many friendships developed with neighbors, farm stand customers and senior friends. This was evidenced by the large collection of newspaper articles and obituaries that she kept throughout the years. She was an excellent knitter and seamstress and was constantly filling orders for mittens or repairing some piece of clothing, right up until recent weeks. Phyllis was awarded the Volunteer Award for knitting mittens and baby hats for charity. Much love and thanks go to her primary care doctor for more than 20 years, Dr. William Wood and his staff at Bangor Internal Medicine Associates. With his care and supervision, she was able to spend the past five winters in Florida with her loving daughter-in-law, Paula, who assumed the role of caregiver for those years. Thanks to Dr. Alan Jansujwicz and staff at Northeast Cardiology, as they also provided the excellent care that extended her life by at least 20 years. This allowed her to travel, which was her favorite hobby, to Hawaii and co-pilot the motor home to many places including, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Nova Scotia and more places in Canada. Our thanks go to the nursing and caring hearts of the nurses on the sixth floor at Eastern Maine Medical Center. We love you Sandi and all. Thank you to Hermon Rescue Squad for their years of assistance. Phyllis was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Richard W. Burgess; brothers, Alfred “Joe” and Alton Gordon; a sister, Viola Gordon; half brother, Gerald Leonard; half sister, Virginia Marsh; and infant grandson, Timothy John Burgess. Surviving are six children, three sons, Richard “Rick” and his wife, Paula, Robert “Larry” and his wife, Suzette, and Timothy and his wife, Teresa, and three daughters, Barbara Kelley, Theresa Oliveira and her special friend, Thomas Michaud, all of Hermon, and Margaret Burgess of Bangor; 11 grandchildren, Heather (Burgess) Emerson Johnson and her husband, Roland, Shelly (Burgess) Look, Brian Burgess and his wife, Melissa, James Kelley and his wife, Sueby, Craig Kelley, John and Erica Oliveira, Nicole, Abigail and Andrew Burgess; a stepgranddaughter, Destiny Rand and her husband, Todd; eight great-grandchildren, Kimberli, Makenzie and Kourtney Emerson, Zachary and Kassidy Look, Aiden Burgess, Brooklyn Rand and Cody Oliveira; two great-stepgrandchildren, Misty and Brandon Cook; along with numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law; half sisters, Sandra McLaughlin and her husband, Myron, of Brewer, Vivian Renebu and her husband, James, of Winter Haven, Fla.; and half brothers, Wendall Leonard and his wife, Josephine, of Bangor and Donald Leonard of Kenduskeag. She will be remembered by her special friends, John Merry, Lorraine Goodale, Doris McDougal and friends in Hermon and Glenburn senior citizen’s clubs. She is lovingly remembered by former in-laws, Jeanne Rideout, Carrie Burgess, Blaine “Ollie” Oliveira, James Kelley, Stacy Emerson and Brian Look. She will be sadly missed by her nap buddies, Herbie and Rudy. Relatives and friends are invited to call 10 a.m.-noon Monday, July 26, at Brookings-Smith, Clark-Piper Chapel, 55 South Main St., Brewer, with a Mass of Christian burial celebrated 1 p.m. at St. Paul the Apostle, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Ohio Street, Bangor. Interment afterward in the family lot at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Hermon. Those wishing to remember Phyllis in a special way may contribute in her memory to Hermon Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 6064, Hermon, ME 04402-6064.
PHYLLIS M. (GORDON) BURGESS
