Christopher R Burgess' Obituary
Christopher R Burgess (74) passed away unexpectedly on January 24, 2024, in Winter Garden, FL.
Born in Danbury, CT, he was one of five children of the late Dr. Forbes Hathaway and Cora Louise Trout Burgess.
While we have lost our most beloved dad, many have lost a loyal friend and loved one in him.
His dash.....would fill a novel.
Chris' passion for flying sparked as a teenager! His part-time job at the local airport fueling planes helped him to pay for his flying lessons to become one of the few high school students in the area to get his pilot's license.
Graduating from Frederick High School in 1967 he enlisted in the Army shortly after. He faithfully and proudly served his country with the 1st U.S, Calvary division from 1965-1973 as well as serving in Vietnam from August 1967 until Dec 1969 as a helicopter pilot. He remained active in the Army until 2009 and was Honorably discharged as a Chief Warrant Officer 4. He achieved several medals during his time there including the Bronze Star medal, Air medal with numeral 24, Air metal with letter V device. Good conduct medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam service medal with 2 bronze service stars, Republic of Vietnam campaign ribbon with device, Expert badge with pistol bar, Sharpshooter badge with auto rifle bar with rifle bar, Army aviator badge.
When he returned from Vietnam, he married his high school sweetheart in Dec 1969. He worked at Eastalco Aluminum as a shift production supervisor for 28 very loyal years. While at Eastalco, he was awarded one of the first PRA scholarships to obtain his Gyroplane Certified Flight Instructor certification. He retired in 2004 and finally was able to spend his days sharing his love of flying and teaching his cherished students, which was always his true calling in life, to be in the sky.
Living most of his life in Frederick Maryland, you would usually find him at the Frederick airport with students or at his cousin Bob Trout's shop. He enjoyed keeping up with the latest movies, walking the trails in the mountains, and visiting his kids in Florida over several years.
He finally made the move to Florida in 2017 to be closer to his daughters and grandchildren. He looked forward to going back to MD for his summer Burgess reunions and Thanksgiving with his siblings. He loved living the Florida life swimming, working out every day, and loved keeping up on his tan!
He is survived by his former wife, Nancy Burgess of Hagerstown; two daughters, Michele Burgess Irvine (Sean) of Windermere, FL, Dawn Yaroshuk (Ernest Jr) of Miami, FL.; four grandchildren, Christopher Irvine, Erin Yaroshuk, Nicholas Irvine and Ryan Yaroshuk; sister Anne Huffer, brother Forbes "Chip" Burgess (Donna), brother Charles Burgess (Bettyjane), sister Louise Shipley (Scott) and several nieces and nephews.
FLY HIGH DAD......
WE WILL MISS YOU FOREVER!!
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association.
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