John Childs Burgess

John Childs Burgess, 86, passed away peacefully at Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Baker City on the morning of March 29, 2015 after a long battle with cancer.

John was born December 31, 1928 in Bend, Oregon to R. C. "Bud" and Dorothea Burgess. His father was a forest ranger, and John spent his young years at ranger stations in La Pine, Crescent, and Cascadia. He and his older brother Bob spent their childhood swimming in the Santiam River, riding horses and camping in the woods with their dad.

John moved to Baker in 1941 at age 13 when his father was transferred to the Baker Ranger District.

John graduated from Baker High School in 1946, and from the Oregon State School of Pharmacy in 1951. He then returned to Baker to work for Henry Levinger at the Levinger Rexall Drug Store as a pharmacist. He was to spend the rest of his long life in Baker, the town he loved.

John's mother Dorothea was a teacher at the Baker Junior High School. She introduced John to a fellow teacher, Frances Ellen Schodde, a recent graduate of the University of Idaho. They were married in April of 1952.

John and his partner Jay McKee bought the Rexall Drug store from Henry Levinger in 1968, and the two were in business together until John's retirement in 1983. During his many years at Levinger Drug he made the acquaintance of virtually everyone in Baker and was on a first name basis with most of his customers. John became very active in local business and service organizations. He was in the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Chest, and was the last charter member of the Baker Rotary Club--as well as a long time member of the Baker Elks Lodge. In later years he helped establish the Safeway Pharmacy, where he worked for many years. He often volunteered at the Baker Heritage Museum. John was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and the church's longest surviving member.

John had a lifelong interest in aviation. He learned to fly at the Baker airport while still in high school, and owned several airplanes. A devoted husband and loving father to his 3 children: Jim, Amy, and Rob; John gave his family many treasured memories of flights to Washington DC, Disneyland, Florida, and many other places, with John and his son Jim at the controls of his private plane. The family also enjoyed boating at the Snake River, Wallowa Lake, and skiing at Anthony Lakes.

John was preceded in death by his parents Bud and Dorothea Burgess, his brother Bob Burgess, his son Robert M. Burgess CPA, and his brother in law Dean Mahoney MD. He is survived by Frances, his wife of 63 years, his son Jim, his daughter Amy Clarke, her husband Nelson Clarke and their children Peter and Anna Clarke, his daughter in law Tara Warren (widow of Robert) and their three children Cole, Erin, and Jack Burgess, as well as his two sisters in law, Della Jean Burgess, Colleen Mahoney, and her 4 children.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 1995 4th St., on Saturday, April 4, at two PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Saint Alphonsus Billie Ruth Bootsma Clinic, the Baker County Library District, or the Friends of the Baker Heritage Museum, through Gray's West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.