Jenifer "Gigi" Evans Burton

Jenifer "Gigi" Evans (Thomson) Burton was born on a hot summer day, July 8, 1972, 20 minutes prior to her twin brother, Robbie. Robbie was her constant playmate and shared her bedroom voluntarily until they were 12, as they weren't done talking by the end of the day. Her brother gets credit for the nickname "Gigi" because he could not pronounce her given name. Gigi was perfectly content to spend time with her brother and parents any and all the time. Her family was her bedrock. She remembers her childhood as idyllic; traveling often with the family and especially their favorite destination of the Cayman Islands (and Super Bowl with her dad).

Despite her small stature and reserved nature as a young girl, Gigi always loved performing in front of others, whether it was a piano recital, a synchronized swimming show with her cousin Aimee or lip synching in her "little orphan Annie" wig. One of her fondest memories is sharing an evening with her dad for a theater production of Annie, waiting after the show to get autographs and then a banana split on the Plaza. Years later, she was in her own productions ('A Christmas Carol' at KC Rep, 'Wizards of Oz' at Theatre in the Park among others) around Kansas City.

If you were her friend, you could count on her for loyal support and always a fun time - which she likely organized! Gigi had a special knack for making everyone she befriended feel like one of her most special friends.

This led to a fierce set of friends, that when asked, described her as sassy and silly; she was innocently naughty and had an infectious laugh that made people want to be in the circle of her light.

Gigi was a "lifer" at The Pembroke Hill School. She was active in school life. A cheerleader, French club (she loved traveling to France), in all four years of the school musical and multiple other performances, she graduated with life-long friends that have been by her side through all these years.

Gigi attended Southern Methodist University and was very active in her sorority, Chi Omega, as a pledge trainer and song leader. She was voted "Best Active" by her sorority sisters as she always took her responsibilities very seriously. Pledging Chi Omega was one of her best decisions due to the many strong life-long friendships she found there and so enjoyed the "Girls Trips" each year. Above all, Gigi relished family and friend time and, if she could combine them together, even better.

After graduating with a double major in broadcast journalism and French, she returned to Kansas City to figure out her career path. An unpaid, part-time internship at KCTV5 and a below entry-level job at a local adverting agency gave her work experience she needed and, with hard work, led her into a career in media. Over 12 years in the industry, she ended her corporate career as the Media Director at Glynn Devins agency. After her second child was born, Gigi launched her own business GG Media, LLC so she could work part time at home and spend more time with her kids.

Gigi always loved kids. The two families she babysat in her teens told her later in life that she was their favorite sitter. One even legally changed her Cabbage Patch doll's name to Gigi. Gigi couldn't wait to be a mom. Max and Anna are her favorite accomplishments of all. Volunteering at their elementary school was an integral part of her life for many years, including serving as the school's Education Foundation President. She loved to sit with the kids and their friends on any given day for their school lunch. She hosted neighborhood parties, sleepovers and never tired of being an entertainer for her kids and their friends. She had a great memory and remembered all her childhood games and songs and loved to teach those to her kids and their friends. She loved to play any game -board games, card games, charades - and never let anyone win who couldn't beat her.

Gigi learned of her cancer diagnosis in April 2015. Wanting to spend as much time as possible with her family, especially her children, she aggressively searched for the best treatment options for her rare stage-4 cancer which originated in the appendix. Her iron will, love and support from her family and friends saved her life many times. Two highly esteemed medical institutions wouldn't operate on her and told her to give up; which made her even more determined. Through five surgeries and chemo in the last six years, Gigi only let go of some of her outside obligations recently. She comes from a long line of strong women who question authority and don't back down (as her mom has told her many times).

A friend described Gigi as a beautiful blend of tenderness and strength. Standing up for the underdog always, Gigi was frequently on the local news for campaigning for fair treatment and safety of others. She never shied away from combining fun and the limelight and enjoyed some time as The Hamburgler (a mascot for McDonalds) during an advertising campaign and the kid's elementary Beaver mascot for their school's homecoming parade.

Gigi credits her parents for her positivity and never give up attitude, as the Thomson family creed instilled at an early age is, "I think I can, I think I can." We think she embodied this spirit until the very end.

Gigi is survived by her loving children, Max and Anna; her parents, Rob and Paula Thomson; her twin brother, Rob (Robobro) and wife, Sheri Thomson and their two daughters, Lillia and Emery; her grandmother Nonny; and Aunts, Uncles and Cousins whom she all adored. And for sisters-from-another-mother, Kat Norris and Michele Costa, along with her countless friends from coast-to-coast, thank you for taking such great care of Gigi and providing so many wonderful memories.

A visitation will be held from 12:00pm to 1:00pm on Thursday, March 3 at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City Missouri. This will be followed by a Funeral Service at 1:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, Gigi requested donations go to FARGO - Foundation for Applied Research in

Gastrointestinal Oncology in honor of her surgeon, Dr. Paul H. Sugarbaker, M.D. FARGO tax id no. 52-1797893; FARGO, Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, 3629 Fulton St. NW, Washington, DC 20007