Mary Burgess

It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the death of Mary Lynne Burgess, (nee Smith), lovingly known as Lynne. She passed away peacefully at home with her husband and constant companion at her side during the morning of April 25, 2018. She was born and raised in Woodstock, Ontario, with her sister Jill Marguerite Smith, to her parents Roy Graham Smith and Mary Lynne Smith (nee Waterhouse). Following her marriage to George Ewart Burgess, better known as Hugh, she moved to Waterloo, Ontario, and then to Parry Sound, Ontario to raise her family. Although our Mom lived in Ontario all of her life, she was positive she was supposed to have been born in the Caribbean or in Italy. Thankfully, she travelled to both places with Dad and experienced two dream vacations that solidified in her mind that she was intended to spend her life in one or both of those places. We know they were dream vacations because of the albums of pictures that Mom took to chronicle the trips. Mom was the record keeper for all the happy times in our family, and was always gathering the kids, friends, friends of friends, teammates, grandkids, or whoever happened to be around to pose for pictures, or took pictures of unsuspecting subjects. She was many things - a teacher, who left that profession to raise the three of us, then worked in Pollard's IDA Pharmacy and the Wolf Den in Parry Sound as a way to re-enter the working world after so many years as a dedicated mother. She tried her hand as a realtor before returning to her nurturing roots as a nurse, as part of the first graduating class to run in Parry Sound as a Georgian College satellite program. Mom nursed and cared for people both in the Parry Sound General Hospital and then in their homes with the Victorian Order of Nurses. She was many things outside of work as well - at various times in her life she was a violinist, a pianist, a stained glass artist, a volunteer for the Festival of the Sound, an actress in the Rainbow Theatre - Parry Sound's local theater company, and along the way, she amassed an impressive collection of fashionable shoes, purses and jewellery, all of which she wore fabulously. When working was done, she and Dad retired to their dream home - a cottage on Ahmic Lake that they called Diamond Haven. Here, Mom danced upstairs, rode her beloved Icelandic ponies, swam, picked berries, took hundreds of pictures of the sunset from the deck, listened to Phantom of the Opera as loud as she wanted to, and so importantly to her, watched over her grandchildren as they experienced the same lake she grew up on during her childhood summers. Mom is survived by her dedicated soulmate and husband of 50 years, Hugh Burgess, her 3 loving children and their partners: Jordan (Keri); Leslie (Randy); David (Lisa), her 6 grandchildren: Owen & Rhys; Kyle & Eva; Alden & Isla, who will miss Nana's visits, talks and constant picture taking. Very deep thanks go to the palliative care and CCAC nurses who helped us through Mom's last days, and the support provided by Hospice Muskoka. If desired, donations in Mom's memory to Hospice Muskoka will go to help other families in need as we were, and will be appreciated by all of us.