Shirley Paulette "Polly" Roberts Burge

1931 – 2013

Shirley Paulette “Polly” Roberts Burge, 81, passed away to meet Christ, her savior, Thursday, June 06, 2013, after an extended, severe stroke illness.

Polly Burge, born in San Antonio, TX, attended Alamo Heights Elementary School and graduated from Alamo Heights High School at the top of her class. After graduating from high school, she attended Mary Baldwin College in Stanton, VA for her first year and transferred to the University of Texas in Austin, TX for the remainder of her under graduate studies, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in elementary education. She was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority, the Honor Society, and many other academic societies and organizations. She was very active in student government and was president of her class. Additionally, she was a Red Cross Gray Lady helping care for military burn victims at Ft. Sam Houston military burn center. She attended the University of Texas for further graduate studies in special education. She taught as a second grade teacher and speech coach for troubled children at the same elementary school she attended as a child.

Polly married John W. Burge, Jr., from Pensacola, FL. They lived several years in San Antonio, relocated to Los Angeles, and then to St. Louis where John was President and GM of the E&S Division and Group VP of Emerson Electric Corp. serving thirteen years on the board. During this time, Polly traveled in support of her husband to forty four countries where she and her husband developed close personal relationships with many heads of state, royalty and secretary and cabinet level government officials as well as many of the top military General and Admiral level officials throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Far East, these relationships lasting for years, some being still active. She was truly a globe-trotting wife supporting her husband and an outstanding mother and role model for her children. She was active in Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League baseball and was a home room mother and a teacher assistant as her children grew up. She served over sixteen years on P.T.A. boards in schools where her children attended and was quite active in the churches they attended as they relocated over the years serving on women’s groups, keeping nurseries, and teaching children’s Sunday School.

The family moved to Pensacola, FL in November, 1980 after retirement where they built a lovely, water front home in Grande Lagoon which was their permanent home for twenty four years. Polly had a severe stroke on 26 December, 2002. Their home and boat were totally lost in hurricane Ivan in September, 2004.

She was quite proud of her self-proclaimed record of never ever raising her voice to her husband and never ever having an argument and vice versa in more than 56 years of marriage. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a marriage ceremony and a reception at their home in Pensacola on March 29, 2008.

Polly was an avid fishing enthusiast participating in many world class big game fishing tournaments on their Bertram Fly Bridge cruiser NAUGHTY GIRL, as well as being an active in-shore angler. She and her husband owned a beautiful water-front villa on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, the smallest of the A-B-C islands, where they lived approximately fifty percent of the time for a number of years. They both participated in extensive SCUBA diving activities with Polly logging up nearly 1,000 dives. She was a PADI Master SCUBA Diver with a number of specialties including Rescue Diver and Deep Diver, but her favorite in which she specialized was underwater photography. She was a prize winning underwater photographer having many of her images displayed internationally.

Polly is survived by her husband, John; five children, John W. Burge V of Sacramento, CA, Carol Delene Burge Cole of St. Petersburg, FL, Eric W. Burge of Bozeman, MT, Kurt R. Burge of Pensacola, FL and Karen K. Burge Gavaletz of Pensacola, FL. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, three step grandchildren and one great grandchild in addition to her two sisters, Patricia Beard of San Antonio, TX and Nancy Hardy of Lawton, OK and her angel caregiver of many many years, Donna Lynch.

Visitation and a reception will be held from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Monday, June 10, 2013 at Oak Lawn Funeral Home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at Oak Lawn Funeral Home.

Inurnment will be held at Bayview Memorial Park at a later date.

OAK LAWN FUNERAL HOME, 619 New Warrington Road, Pensacola, FL is entrusted with arrangements.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be sent to your favorite charity or preferably to Perdido Bay Baptist Church, 12600 Sorrento Road, Pensacola, FL 3507, (850) 492-2604.

Condolences may be offered at www.oaklawnfunerals.com.