Person:George Burgess (1)

George Graydon Burgess was born George Roy Graydon. He was adopted by Francis Burgess and Irma Graydon, his aunt and uncle, May 25, 1934 and changed his name to George Graydon Burgess. His childhood home after adoptio n was within the walls ofBellefontaine Cemetery. B.S.- University of Dubuque (Iowa); Master' s-Washington University, St. Louis; Ph D Psychology University of Illinois1957.

George Roy Graydon was the oldest son of Frederick Graydon, the youngestin his family, and Fl orence George Graydon, the youngest in her family.The family lived at 4961 Lilburn Ave, St. L ouis, Missouri. George wasfrequently sick as a child and went to his Aunt Irma's house wher e shecared for him. A family doctor intervened saying this back and forthbetween two house s was not good for him and he should stay at one place.He was adopted May 25, 1934 by his Aun t Irma and Uncle Francis Burgess,and his name became George Graydon Burgess. They lived in t hesuperintendent's home at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis. Later inlife, he would joke ab out growing up in a cemetery: the neighbors werealmost always quiet; a great neighborhood, e veryone was just dying tomove in; or such.

George attended Mark Twain Grade School and William Beaumont High School.While in high school , George competed in Chess and enjoyed fencing. Allhis life, he remembered hearing the new s of the Japanese attack on PearlHarbor as he returned home from playing chess at a friend' s house. Georgegraduated from Beaumont High School on June 12, 1942, with honors(average of 9 0% or more in all subjects). The following summer, he was acounselor at Camp Taconic in Eure ka, Mo.

He enrolled in Drury University, Springfield, Mo, following high schooland intended to becom e a minister or chaplain. His adoptive parents, theBurgesses, were to finance his education . However, shortly after heturned 18, he was drafted to serve in World War II. He opted fo r theU.S. Navy and went to basic training at Farragut, Idaho and was acceptedthere to be memb er of the V-12's. The V-12's was an extremelyprestigious group, which the Navy would send t o college at the Navy'sexpense and the graduates would be commissioned as officers. In study ingunder the V-12 program, George was transferred first to the University ofWashington, Seatt le, WA for the fall 1943 semester; to the University ofIdaho, Pocatello, for the spring 1944 ; and then to the University ofDubuque, by July 1944, where he received his Bachelor's in Jun e 1945. OnAugust 11, 1945, George Burgess took the oath of office as NavalMidshipman, just a s the war was ending.

George spent the fall of 1945 at Midshipman's school, Notre Dame,Indiana, and reported to Sa n Francisco, for duty on board the U.S.S.Comet, a transport ship, in November 1945. He misse d Christmas 1945, bysailing across the international dateline late on December 24, right into December 26. He visited Japan, China and several Pacific Islands whileserving. In March 194 6, he visited Nagasaki and wrote home, "The bombedout part of Nagasaki is about two miles squ are and scarcely a wholebuilding is to be seen unless it has been rebuilt. However, most o f thetown appears almost untouched." George completed his Naval service June19, 1946. He sp ent some time in St. Louis, studying for his Master'sdegree at Washington University, St. Lou is. While working for the U.S.Air Force, he was stationed several places including San Anton io, TX andUrbana, IL.

George Graydon Burgess met Jean Clarice Huber at the University ofIllinois where she worked a t the Clark Micro Analytical Laboratory inUrbana, IL. He was employed at Chanute AFB while wo rking on his Ph.D. inPsychology.

Jean Clarice Huber spent the early years of her life in Rock Island, ILand moved to Chicago a bout the age of 11. There, she graduated fromMorgan Park High School, where she was a membe r of the National HonorSociety and in the top 10% of her class. She was member of Tau Epsilo n,the school's honor society throughout her time there. That summer sheworked for the Rock I sland Railroad. Jean attended Morgan Park JuniorCollege, Chicago, on a scholarship, and grad uated second in her class.Morgan Park Junior College was once part of the University of Chica go andon the campus of Morgan Park Military Academy.

Jean completed her studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign.While she was there, th e school was very crowded with men returning fromthe service. She lived in a rooming house b ecause she was unable to getspace in the college dormitories. At this time, just about every onewould mail dirty clothes home to be laundered. Everyone would hope theclean laundry woul d be accompanied by other goodies from home, likecookies or brownies. Special boxes were sol d just for mailing laundry.During the summers, Jean worked in a couple laboratories; at leas t acouple times for Sherwin-Williams. During the summer of 1945, she workedfor National Alum inate Company (they make water treatment chemicals). Asthe world recognizes 50 year annivers aries of various WWII events, Jeanremembers discussions at this laboratory and driving to an d from workabout the atomic bomb drops on Japan. The news of the impact of thebombs, and th e devastation from single bombs, took days to comprehend.Jean received a Bachelor of Libera l Arts and Sciences with a major inChemistry and minor in Physics and Mathematics from the Un iversity ofIllinois, in June 1947. Jean continued working for several years aftergraduatin g from college. For summer vacations, she spent time at duderanches in Colorado and Montana.

George Burgess and Jean Huber were married at Zion Lutheran Church, inChicago, on 17 Nov. 195 1. A reception was held at her parents' home.They took a honeymoon trip to Eureka Springs, A rkansas. Their first homewas 217 1/2 Main St., Urbana, IL. They later moved to 908 E. Michi gan,Urbana, where their eldest son, Bruce Emerson Burgess, was born.

Jean and George Burgess moved to San Antonio, TX in 1954. Their firsthome has in housing fo r Kelly Air Force Base, the development was calledBilly Mitchell Village. From the kitchen w indow here, the flight line atKelly was visible. Duncan Conrad Burgess was born there. The y latermoved to a house at 255 Montpelier Dr, San Antonio; Keith Gordon Burgesswas born there . George worked at Lackland Air Force base, and theybelonged to the Lackland Officer's Club . In 1957, George received hisPh.D. from the University of Illinois. The family spent 3 mont hs (Aug.,Sept., Oct., 1957) at 527 San Vicente Blvd., Santa Monica, CA, whileGeorge was on te mporary duty there. While living there, the familyvisited Disney Land. One of the exhibit s was a journey to the moon;Bruce didn't want to go because he liked living on the Earth jus t fine.Bruce started kindergarten there. The family returned to San Antoniowhere Joyce Clari ce Burgess was born. Bruce remembers that it snowedonce while they lived in San Antonio; i t was just a dusting of snow.Bruce wanted to go out to play in the snow; go sledding, make sn owballs,build snowmen, go skiing; all the things he had heard about playing inthe snow. Hi s Mom wouldn't let him go outside.

The family moved to State College, PA in January 1959. They had to stayin a motel for two we eks because the moving van driver quit his jobenroute, and took all the family possessions t o Indianapolis. It seemedforever, with two small babies in diapers and two little rambunctio usboys. It was cold in State College. They hadn't experienced coldweather while living in T exas. Jean had to explain to the boys what snowwas.

George worked with HRB Singer at the time. They rented a house, R.D. 1,Box 265-6, Bellefonte , PA. This house had the first electric stove Jeanever cooked on. It was winter when they m oved in, and snow would blow inaround the window as it fit so poorly. Jean could hardly boi l a pot ofwater; it seemed to take forever. They had a house built in StateCollege, R.D. ! , Box 543-3. The house was made of stone. The builderwent to the mountain to get the stones . Duncan started school in StateCollege. One day, a truck crashed into the mailbox and caug ht fire.While in PA, George learned to fly and received his pilot's license.George and two pa rtners owned a small plane while the family lived inState College. George sold his interes t when he moved to Denver.

The family moved to 9952 Bannock, Denver, CO in Nov. 1960, where Georgeworked for Martin-Mari etta Corp. George took the children flying whilethey lived in Denver. At the time they live d in Denver, Denver hadterrible smog problems. To compound the problem, every house had it s owngarbage burner. They later moved to 3005 N. Chenango Ave., Littleton,CO. Cheryl Gay Bu rgess was born there. They didn't buy a house ineither place. In Littleton, there was a sho pping center nearby. Thearea had sidewalks, and the Rockies were visible in the distance.

In June 1962, the family moved to 623 Franklin Ave., Franklin Lakes, NJ.On the trip there fro m Colorado, they visited relatives in Illinois. Itwas near the date of Keith's birthday (Jun e 7). He had several birthdaycakes.

In Franklin Lakes, NJ, George worked for ITT/International Electric Co.They bought an old sto ne house; George did a lot of work refurbishing andupdating the house. He left a pair of gla sses in one of the walls. Whenthe family first arrived at the house, the grass was as tall a s the smallchildren. Keith, Joyce and Cheryl started school there. While living inFrankli n Lakes, George's brother, Leonard Graydon who lived in New YorkCity visited often. Leonar d would take George's boys on hiking trips.Keith was playing with matches when he shouldn't h ave been, one day andset the yard on fire. The fire department had to come to put it out.The ir house was on the main street in town. There was a stone wall infront of the house. Annua l Memorial Day parades went by the house. Keithrode his bike in several of the parades.

In 1964, George moved to Cheverly, MD while working for the Navy. Hecame to visit the famil y every weekend and never missed one. The familymoved to 358 Scott Dr., Silver Spring, MD i n Oct. 1966.

In 1968, the family had a house built, 10209 Windsor View Dr., Potomac,MD. While the house w as being built, the children began the school yearat new schools in Potomac, commuting from S ilver Spring. This house wasthe first house on the street to have the sale closed. The hous e was abrand new house on a brand new street, in a brand new development. Jean'sparents live d in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the family would visit themduring the school Easter vacation . Duncan went to New York to go onhiking trips with Leonard several times. All five childre n graduatedfrom Winston Churchill High School and the University of Maryland whileliving ther e.

When the children were old enough to be left untended, George and Jeanbegan traveling rathe r extensively. George retired in 1980, from civilservice with the U.S. Army. Their first tr ip was to Munich, Germany withthe ITT Stockholders. They visited neighbors who had moved fro m Potomacto Germany. Later they took trips on their own, getting EurRail passesand making th eir own itinerary. They visited most of western Europe andmuch of the U.S.

In 1978?, George entered a study group with the National Institutes ofHealth which was studyi ng people with leaky aorta valves. After havinghis heart, the leakage of the valve and the h eart's size studied byphysicians there, a determination was made in late 1985, that surgery t oreplace the valve was necessary. He had surgery to replace the valve inJanuary 1986, and die d a week after the surgery, as a result of the heartgoing into fibrillation. His death was t he second death in the studygroup. Following his death, the physicians conducting the study determined that his valve should have been replaced earlier. He isburied in Bellefontaine Cem etery in St. Louis, his childhoodhome.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Graydon.GED.

   Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 5, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: 30 Dec 1998, Internal Ref. #1.111.5.33444.82

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Genealogy.com. Family Archive number 110, Social Security Death Index: U.S. Ed. 9. (Release date: April 10, 2000).

   Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 5, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: 30 Dec 1998, Internal Ref. #1.111.5.33444.82