Mary Burgess of Virginia Beach passed away peacefully on March 19, 2024. Mary was a 14-year resident of Westminster Canterbury’s retirement community, but always considered her home to be in Norfolk where she lived for over 50 years to raise her family. Mary was born on September 20, 1922, in Camden County North Carolina to Nora and James (Jim) Mercer. As the youngest of her family with two older sisters and a brother, she was the last surviving member of her generation.
She experienced the Great Depression as a child and came to adulthood during World War II when the world was a much different place. Through her formative years she found a humble strength that would be with her throughout her life. She was proud of her time spent as a Navy wife before she settled down to lovingly raise her family. She was an active long-time member of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Norfolk. Mary was a breast cancer survivor. She worked as the bookkeeper for Viking Marine for 16 years before she retired to travel with her husband and enjoy the grandchildren.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband Julian (Jack) Burgess and daughter Nancy Gofus of Reston, Virginia. Left to cherish her memory are her son Mike and his wife Ellen, son-in-law Joe Gofus of Reston Virginia, her grandchildren Matt Gofus (wife Kate), Katie Schofield (husband Tyler) (both of Herndon Virginia), as well as Michelle Burgess (fiancé Matt) and Sean Burgess (both reside in Raleigh/Durham North Carolina) and three great-grandchildren Maggie, Jack, Elyse and more on the way.
Mary’s family want to express their heartfelt appreciation to her care team and all the support staff at the Westminster-Canterbury Hoy center. It is such a blessing to know that she was so well cared for by all of them these last three years. In lieu of flowers, any donations can be made to the Westminster-Canterbury Foundation Employee Assistance Fund.
A Celebration of Life service will be held for Mary at Westminster-Canterbury’s chapel at 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach at 1:30 PM on Friday, April 12th.
