Donald Burgess

Don Burgess was born March 10, 1930, in Everly, Iowa, to Asa and Irene Erskine Burgess. He died at the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, Iowa, on November 24, 2011, at the age of 81.
His early years were spent in Everly, but he and his family moved to California during WWII. Because his parents worked many hours at the shipyards, Don spent his time taking care of himself. Thus he joined the Junior Optimist Club in Long Beach and later became president of this organization. He found sports a good way to use his time and became an outstanding athlete in most sports. He was a member of the California baseball State Legion team that won the state tournament. He was only 13 at the time. He attended Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, CA, where he lettered in basketball.
He returned to Everly for his last two years of high school. There he played basketball and baseball. His H.S. baseball team made it to state twice, being in the finals his senior year. He was also senior class president. He enrolled at Iowa State College with both athletic and merit scholarships. He became the starting pitcher as a sophomore and was named to the Big Seven Elite All-star team. He also pitched for the first televised sports event for WOI. He held the all-time strike-out record of 14 for many years at Iowa State.
Don married Frances Smith in 1951 while both were students at Iowa State. They later transferred to Buena Vista to earn teaching degrees. During college and after graduation, he played for several semi-pro teams in Iowa and Minnesota. His first teaching job was in Glidden. Then he and his family moved to Milford to teach and coach. In 1959, they came to Denison where he taught 9th grade science and was the head coach in baseball and assistant in the other sports. In the fall of 1969, he became the Junior High principal in the old Central Building. Two years later, they moved to the old High School building. In 1974, the change was made to the middle school concept. He remained principal there until his retirement in 1986. He often said how lucky he was to have such a dedicated staff. They implemented Outdoor Education for the 6th graders of which he took great pride. He was one of the leaders of a committee that would usher computers into the school system. In 1985, he earned Boss of the Year from the Junior Chamber of Commerce. The following year he was awarded the Iowa Isaac Walton Leagues Educator of the Year. Through the National Association of Secondary School Principals, he and Fran were able to travel abroad to visit ten countries to observe their secondary schools.
Both Don and Fran retired from the Denison School system in 1986. They spent time traveling and could boast that they visited 48 states and numerous foreign countries. For the last 26 years, they were fortunate to spend their winters in south Texas enjoying fishing and the warm climate. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this summer with their family.
Don is survived by his wife, Fran, son Scott and his wife, Chris; his grandchildren, Jamey and wife, Dina; Tobin and wife, Jenny; great grandchildren Jakob, Breanna and Taevin. He is also survived by a daughter, Kim and her husband, Curt; and their children, Brian and wife Emily; and Emily, a senior at Northwest Missouri State.
Dad had a love for the Colorado Rockies baseball team. He had a special nephew who made it possible for them to attend a week of games each year, sitting in row 1, right behind home plate. He was thrilled to be able to attend the All-Star game at Coors Field in 1998. Don was always wearing his purple wrist bracelet in memory of this special nephew.