On July 3, 2020, Anne Maureen Burgess (nee Magee) passed away. She was the beloved wife of Hugh F. Burgess; devoted mother of Geoffrey Burgess and his wife Karen, Douglas Burgess and his wife Patty, Jonathan Burgess and his wife Jane, and David Burgess and his wife Maria; loving grandmother of nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild; dear sister of the late Molly Belcher, Ernest (Jimmy) Magee, Kathleen (Ta) Stamper, and Janey MacFawn. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Anne was an elementary school teacher for over 35 years at the McDonogh, Manlius Pebble Hill, and Buckley schools.
A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Anne’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011, or the McDonogh School, Office of Philanthropy, 8600 McDonogh RD, Owings Mills, MD 21117. Condolences may be left for the family at www.schimunekfuneralhomes.com.
ANNE: THE WAY IT WAS, THE WAY IT IS
What has been taken away from her is…
her driver’s license her Volvo wagon her right to fasten her
own seat belt
her bicycle helmet her almost new Trek ten-speed the
North Central Trail, dry, wet, crusted with snow
her tennis racket her badminton racket her joyful overhead
smash right at your head
her oil paints her watercolors her sketch book full of
graceful trees and gracious clouds
her volunteer pass at the Aquarium her docent notebook for
the Baltimore Art Museum
those Polish American kids reading aloud in the Pioneer
Valley
those Spanish American kids reciting the times tables in the
desert outside El Paso
those fourth graders about to go on stage for the wind-up
musical in Owings Mills
those first graders tied together to cross Lexington Avenue
safely
all those graders during jump rope recess bus duty lunch
duty library duty
all those exotic creatures in her classroom rain forest
her water aerobics her bathing suit her side stroke, back
stroke, dog paddle, breast stroke
her meander to the off-shore buoy and back
her jib sheet her sailing gloves her sunscreen her blue
kayak and red paddle
her walks along the Penny Hill beach her morning coffee
lakeside in Maine
the strolls through London, Cambridge, Rathfriland, Paris,
Salzburg, Graz, Florence, Rome, Tokyo, Odessa,
Toronto, Quebec
her orchestra bells her piano her Unitarian choir scores
her Middle River Concert Band schedule
her oven thermometer her cookbook her dish towels
the knobs on the stove
her letters from her college roommate
her long reach back into Northern Ireland and all that came
forward, even from Nigeria
the telephone calls from her sons
her quiet pride in her four remarkable daughters-in-law
the names of her grandchildren
her walking shoes
her entire capacity for speech---
What never leaves us… is her smile.
