John R. (Jack) Burgess, M.D., died Saturday after a brief illness.
He was 80 years old. Born in Wolf Point in 1922, the son of Jack and Esther Burgess, he attended school in Wolf Point and Glasgow prior to moving to Missoula, where he graduated from Missoula County High School and the University of Montana.
He was an Eagle Scout and a camp counselor during high school, and he played varsity basketball at U of M. While in the Army, he served in the infantry, then attended medical school at Duke University where he also completed his internship.
In 1948, he married Donna Kelly of Butte. After a four-year surgical residency in Lexington, Ky., he volunteered for Korea, where he served in an evac hospital, and later as commander of the hospital trains. He began his medical practice in Townsend in 1954. In 1956 he moved to Helena, where he established a medical group with Dave Bossler, Bud Little and Jim Crichton. Upon retirement from private practice in 1984, he worked as Mountain Bell's medical director for Montana and Idaho until 1989. Still an Army Reservist, he was activated and served in stateside hospitals during the first Gulf War; he later retired as a colonel.
He was active in the Helena community, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and a Redcoat Ambassador. He was a member of the Carroll College President's Council and served on the boards of the Union (Northwest) Bank, the University of Montana Foundation and the Holter Museum. He was a chairman of the Helena Airport Authority, president of the Montana Medical Association, chief of staff at St. John's and St. Peter's hospitals, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He founded a volunteer clinic for the uninsured at the Leo Pocha Health Clinic. A great supporter of education, he was honored with community service awards from both Carroll College and the University of Montana. He served as an associate clinical preceptor for visiting medical students from various universities and recently was involved with the Helena Education Foundation.
Jack loved to hunt, fish, fly, ski, sail and travel. For more than 30 years he spearheaded the Driftwood Classic, Placid Lake's annual sailing regatta, and he and Donna covered North America from Canada to Mexico in their small plane. Between 1964 and 1990, they organized 10 European charter flights for the Northern Division of the U.S. Ski Association. In the process, he earned the title "Obergrüppenstürmführer," made friends with everyone he met, and invited most of them back to Montana. This Montana boy's open-minded ways helped integrate college basketball when he was a student in North Carolina, and later presented the better side of America to the people he met in countries from Russia to Iran, China to South Africa.
For years he dressed up as Santa Claus and made memorable Christmas Eve visits to many Helena children. His own children, grandchildren and their friends will fondly remember the Placid Lake pancakes and "advice" generously doled out by Grack. In later years he traded surgery for metal sculpting and painting, to the delight of his friends and benefit of many good causes.
He is survived by his wife Donna; his brother Richard of Falls Church, Va.; daughter Sidney and her sons, Kal and Dan Poole, of Helena; son Kelly of Placid Lake; son David, his wife Kris and children Katie and Sean of Tucson, Ariz.; and daughter Eileen, her husband Gordon Watson and their daughters Emily and Shelly of Missoula; his brothers-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Dorothy Allison and Beverly Frankenfield.
A funeral liturgy is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Helena. Interment at the Seeley Lake Cemetery, The Best Last Place, will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the charity of your choice.
Published in The Independent Record (Helena, MT) on Jul 22, 2003 and provided by Find A Grave member #47790017, Michael Spurzem
He was 80 years old. Born in Wolf Point in 1922, the son of Jack and Esther Burgess, he attended school in Wolf Point and Glasgow prior to moving to Missoula, where he graduated from Missoula County High School and the University of Montana.
He was an Eagle Scout and a camp counselor during high school, and he played varsity basketball at U of M. While in the Army, he served in the infantry, then attended medical school at Duke University where he also completed his internship.
In 1948, he married Donna Kelly of Butte. After a four-year surgical residency in Lexington, Ky., he volunteered for Korea, where he served in an evac hospital, and later as commander of the hospital trains. He began his medical practice in Townsend in 1954. In 1956 he moved to Helena, where he established a medical group with Dave Bossler, Bud Little and Jim Crichton. Upon retirement from private practice in 1984, he worked as Mountain Bell's medical director for Montana and Idaho until 1989. Still an Army Reservist, he was activated and served in stateside hospitals during the first Gulf War; he later retired as a colonel.
He was active in the Helena community, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and a Redcoat Ambassador. He was a member of the Carroll College President's Council and served on the boards of the Union (Northwest) Bank, the University of Montana Foundation and the Holter Museum. He was a chairman of the Helena Airport Authority, president of the Montana Medical Association, chief of staff at St. John's and St. Peter's hospitals, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He founded a volunteer clinic for the uninsured at the Leo Pocha Health Clinic. A great supporter of education, he was honored with community service awards from both Carroll College and the University of Montana. He served as an associate clinical preceptor for visiting medical students from various universities and recently was involved with the Helena Education Foundation.
Jack loved to hunt, fish, fly, ski, sail and travel. For more than 30 years he spearheaded the Driftwood Classic, Placid Lake's annual sailing regatta, and he and Donna covered North America from Canada to Mexico in their small plane. Between 1964 and 1990, they organized 10 European charter flights for the Northern Division of the U.S. Ski Association. In the process, he earned the title "Obergrüppenstürmführer," made friends with everyone he met, and invited most of them back to Montana. This Montana boy's open-minded ways helped integrate college basketball when he was a student in North Carolina, and later presented the better side of America to the people he met in countries from Russia to Iran, China to South Africa.
For years he dressed up as Santa Claus and made memorable Christmas Eve visits to many Helena children. His own children, grandchildren and their friends will fondly remember the Placid Lake pancakes and "advice" generously doled out by Grack. In later years he traded surgery for metal sculpting and painting, to the delight of his friends and benefit of many good causes.
He is survived by his wife Donna; his brother Richard of Falls Church, Va.; daughter Sidney and her sons, Kal and Dan Poole, of Helena; son Kelly of Placid Lake; son David, his wife Kris and children Katie and Sean of Tucson, Ariz.; and daughter Eileen, her husband Gordon Watson and their daughters Emily and Shelly of Missoula; his brothers-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Dorothy Allison and Beverly Frankenfield.
A funeral liturgy is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Helena. Interment at the Seeley Lake Cemetery, The Best Last Place, will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the charity of your choice.
Published in The Independent Record (Helena, MT) on Jul 22, 2003 and provided by Find A Grave member #47790017, Michael Spurzem
John R. (Jack) Burgess, M.D., died Saturday after a brief illness.
He was 80 years old. Born in Wolf Point in 1922, the son of Jack and Esther Burgess, he attended school in Wolf Point and Glasgow prior to moving to Missoula, where he graduated from Missoula County High School and the University of Montana.
He was an Eagle Scout and a camp counselor during high school, and he played varsity basketball at U of M. While in the Army, he served in the infantry, then attended medical school at Duke University where he also completed his internship.
In 1948, he married Donna Kelly of Butte. After a four-year surgical residency in Lexington, Ky., he volunteered for Korea, where he served in an evac hospital, and later as commander of the hospital trains. He began his medical practice in Townsend in 1954. In 1956 he moved to Helena, where he established a medical group with Dave Bossler, Bud Little and Jim Crichton. Upon retirement from private practice in 1984, he worked as Mountain Bell's medical director for Montana and Idaho until 1989. Still an Army Reservist, he was activated and served in stateside hospitals during the first Gulf War; he later retired as a colonel.
He was active in the Helena community, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and a Redcoat Ambassador. He was a member of the Carroll College President's Council and served on the boards of the Union (Northwest) Bank, the University of Montana Foundation and the Holter Museum. He was a chairman of the Helena Airport Authority, president of the Montana Medical Association, chief of staff at St. John's and St. Peter's hospitals, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He founded a volunteer clinic for the uninsured at the Leo Pocha Health Clinic. A great supporter of education, he was honored with community service awards from both Carroll College and the University of Montana. He served as an associate clinical preceptor for visiting medical students from various universities and recently was involved with the Helena Education Foundation.
Jack loved to hunt, fish, fly, ski, sail and travel. For more than 30 years he spearheaded the Driftwood Classic, Placid Lake's annual sailing regatta, and he and Donna covered North America from Canada to Mexico in their small plane. Between 1964 and 1990, they organized 10 European charter flights for the Northern Division of the U.S. Ski Association. In the process, he earned the title "Obergrüppenstürmführer," made friends with everyone he met, and invited most of them back to Montana. This Montana boy's open-minded ways helped integrate college basketball when he was a student in North Carolina, and later presented the better side of America to the people he met in countries from Russia to Iran, China to South Africa.
For years he dressed up as Santa Claus and made memorable Christmas Eve visits to many Helena children. His own children, grandchildren and their friends will fondly remember the Placid Lake pancakes and "advice" generously doled out by Grack. In later years he traded surgery for metal sculpting and painting, to the delight of his friends and benefit of many good causes.
He is survived by his wife Donna; his brother Richard of Falls Church, Va.; daughter Sidney and her sons, Kal and Dan Poole, of Helena; son Kelly of Placid Lake; son David, his wife Kris and children Katie and Sean of Tucson, Ariz.; and daughter Eileen, her husband Gordon Watson and their daughters Emily and Shelly of Missoula; his brothers-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Dorothy Allison and Beverly Frankenfield.
A funeral liturgy is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Helena. Interment at the Seeley Lake Cemetery, The Best Last Place, will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the charity of your choice.
Published in The Independent Record (Helena, MT) on Jul 22, 2003 and provided by Find A Grave member #47790017, Michael Spurzem
He was 80 years old. Born in Wolf Point in 1922, the son of Jack and Esther Burgess, he attended school in Wolf Point and Glasgow prior to moving to Missoula, where he graduated from Missoula County High School and the University of Montana.
He was an Eagle Scout and a camp counselor during high school, and he played varsity basketball at U of M. While in the Army, he served in the infantry, then attended medical school at Duke University where he also completed his internship.
In 1948, he married Donna Kelly of Butte. After a four-year surgical residency in Lexington, Ky., he volunteered for Korea, where he served in an evac hospital, and later as commander of the hospital trains. He began his medical practice in Townsend in 1954. In 1956 he moved to Helena, where he established a medical group with Dave Bossler, Bud Little and Jim Crichton. Upon retirement from private practice in 1984, he worked as Mountain Bell's medical director for Montana and Idaho until 1989. Still an Army Reservist, he was activated and served in stateside hospitals during the first Gulf War; he later retired as a colonel.
He was active in the Helena community, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and a Redcoat Ambassador. He was a member of the Carroll College President's Council and served on the boards of the Union (Northwest) Bank, the University of Montana Foundation and the Holter Museum. He was a chairman of the Helena Airport Authority, president of the Montana Medical Association, chief of staff at St. John's and St. Peter's hospitals, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He founded a volunteer clinic for the uninsured at the Leo Pocha Health Clinic. A great supporter of education, he was honored with community service awards from both Carroll College and the University of Montana. He served as an associate clinical preceptor for visiting medical students from various universities and recently was involved with the Helena Education Foundation.
Jack loved to hunt, fish, fly, ski, sail and travel. For more than 30 years he spearheaded the Driftwood Classic, Placid Lake's annual sailing regatta, and he and Donna covered North America from Canada to Mexico in their small plane. Between 1964 and 1990, they organized 10 European charter flights for the Northern Division of the U.S. Ski Association. In the process, he earned the title "Obergrüppenstürmführer," made friends with everyone he met, and invited most of them back to Montana. This Montana boy's open-minded ways helped integrate college basketball when he was a student in North Carolina, and later presented the better side of America to the people he met in countries from Russia to Iran, China to South Africa.
For years he dressed up as Santa Claus and made memorable Christmas Eve visits to many Helena children. His own children, grandchildren and their friends will fondly remember the Placid Lake pancakes and "advice" generously doled out by Grack. In later years he traded surgery for metal sculpting and painting, to the delight of his friends and benefit of many good causes.
He is survived by his wife Donna; his brother Richard of Falls Church, Va.; daughter Sidney and her sons, Kal and Dan Poole, of Helena; son Kelly of Placid Lake; son David, his wife Kris and children Katie and Sean of Tucson, Ariz.; and daughter Eileen, her husband Gordon Watson and their daughters Emily and Shelly of Missoula; his brothers-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Dorothy Allison and Beverly Frankenfield.
A funeral liturgy is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Helena. Interment at the Seeley Lake Cemetery, The Best Last Place, will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the charity of your choice.
Published in The Independent Record (Helena, MT) on Jul 22, 2003 and provided by Find A Grave member #47790017, Michael Spurzem
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
