Obituary of Margaret Jane Burgess

Margaret Jane (Peggy) Gilbertson Burgess (72) Peggy Burgess passed away September 10, 2011 after an extended illness at Hardwood Nursing Facility in Tacoma, WA. Peggy was born December 23, 1938 in Whitefish, MT to Clarence and Mary Gilbertson, the 6th of nine children. The birth took place at the family home in the country where Mary and her sister Margaret were snowed in by a terrible blizzard. Mary had planned to stay with family in Kalispell in the week prior to her expected delivery date, but she went into labor unexpectedly during a severe snow storm. Mary’s sister, who was a nursing student at the time, was the only attendant at the birth. She grew up with her family in Kalispell and attended grade school and Flathead High School. After graduation from high school, Peggy lived in Spokane WA with a friend for a time and then in 1963, ventured out into the world moving to New Orleans, LA where she worked at the Michoud Assembly Facility where final assembly of large space shuttles for NASA took place. Peggy recounted stories of how enormous the shuttles were, in that the phrase United States of America was spelled vertically from tip to stern and each letter was as tall as her. Later in the 60’s she moved to San Francisco, CA. where she worked for a logging company. While renting at a rooming house, she met Jess Burgess when other renters gathered in her room to watch the historic Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 on her color TV. They married in 1970, and in 1976 they had a daughter that they named after each of their mothers, Mary Alice Burgess. Peggy returned to Kalispell in 1979, where she worked for Harry Ish and later Human Resources. She then moved to Seattle in 1997 where she worked for her brother Jim’s company, Biblesoft. She worked as a bookkeeper as her father did all of her life. Peggy was preceded in death by her parents and Jess Burgess. She is survived by her daughter and husband, Mary Alice and Chris Richards of Tacoma WA, her granddaughter, Lindsey Burgess and grandson, Anthony Richards. They were the lights of her life. She is also survived by her brothers and sisters Mae Tilton (Helena, Mt), Mary Lou and Jack Basham (Thompson Falls, Mt), Harold and Virginia Gilbertson (Pine, AZ), Jim and LoAnna Gilbertson (Des Moines, WA), LeRoy and Regina Gilbertson (Alexandria, VA) Ted and Donna Gilbertson (Kalispell, MT), Larry and Marie Gilbertson (Chapin, SC) and Janice and Larry McMillan (Chandler, AZ) and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Peggy’s family meant a great deal to her, and she enjoyed doing genealogy research. Unfortunately, she missed the family reunion in August of 2011 due to ill health, the first one she had ever missed in 50 years of reunions. She loved to be in the middle of those reunions at the Lion’s Camp on Bitterroot Lake every 3 years. Peggy was very social and loved getting together with friends from the Auburn Senior Center to play card and domino games. She loved to quilt and shared her talent with many. She made many beautiful quilts, and even won ribbons at the fair for her work. Peggy was very adventurous and was always up for trying something new. Among other things, she had a passion for cooking wonderful food and sharing it with those she loved. Peggy was well known for her carrot cake and potato salad. Other hobbies and interests Peggy had included gardening, flower arranging, cross stitch, embroidery, knitting, golfing, and playing her organ. A Remembrance Gathering will be held in her honor at the Auburn Senior Center, 808 Ninth St SW on September 25th 2011 from 4:30-6:30pm. Please bring a favorite dish to share, as one of Peggy’s favorite things was a pot-luck style dinner. A more formal service will be held in her hometown of Kalispell, MT on October 22nd at 4:00pm at Central Christian Church, 248 2nd Ave East, Kalispell, MT 59901. Peggy’s wishes were to be cremated with her ashes to be spread on her brother Ted’s property in Kalispell.