Christine Patricia Burgess, 69, passed away peacefully at her home in Willow Glen after a long illness. Christine was born in Neenah, Wisconsin to Maurice and Marie Gentleman. She grew up in the Buffalo area, graduated from Amherst High School and in 1965, from SUNY at Buffalo with a BFA. In 1967, she hopped on a train to San Francisco with no job or contacts, to make a new life out West. On December 18, 1971, she married Ian Burgess in San Francisco and moved to San Jose.
She devoted her life to raising her family in Willow Glen while pursuing her eclectic art interests in drawing, painting, sculpture, papier mache, and doll-making. In 1987, she moved to Penang, Malaysia with her husband and two children and immediately fell in love with the people, food and culture of Malaysia. She had many local Malaysian friends and treasured those relationships deeply. The six years in Malaysia were among the happiest days of her life. Christine really enjoyed dancing, and it was not unusual to see her shaking it up on the dance floor at parties with one of her sons after she wore out her husband. Christine was generous with her time and volunteered with many organizations throughout the years, both here and in Malaysia. She was a beautiful, free spirit who lived her life to the fullest with humor, love, kindness, and devotion to her family.
She is survived by her husband, Ian of San Jose; son and daughter-in-law, Eric and Lindsey of Fresno, California; grandchildren, Oliver and Sydney of Fresno; son, Gavin of San Jose; brothers, John of Jacksonville, Florida; Dennis of Fairbanks, Alaska; Dan of San Mateo, California; and Jim of San Jose.
Christine was preceded in death by her brother, Michael.
The family invites all friends to attend a celebration of her life on December 9, 2012 at 1:00 pm in the Chapel of Roses at Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park in San Jose. In lieu of flowers, we suggest a donation to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, Inc. (www.lbda.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.6