Mary Burgess Obituary

Mary Vinnie Mitchell was born on November 29, 1931, in Belton, Texas, to Kitty Clydie and Flenoy Mark (Winks) Mitchell. She was a former member of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Belton, Texas. She met and married William T. Burgess, Sr., and they moved to Temple, Texas. She later became a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Temple, Texas, and was a member of the church choir. Mary received her Bachelor of Education from Huston Tillotson in 1949 and her Master of Education from Baylor University. She was an education icon in the Temple and Rose Bud Texas school districts where she received numerous honorary awards for service and dedication in education and community service. Mary also received the Temple Teacher of the Year award for the 1980-1981 period. She taught for 36 years until retirement. She also served as a substitute teacher until the age of 88. She was a proud member of the Huston Tillotson Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She was preceded in death by her parents, Kitty Clydie and Flenoy Mark (Winks) Mitchell; brothers, Wilfred Mitchell, Clyde Mitchell, Edward Mitchell; and her husband, William T. Burgess, Sr.
Survivors are three sons, William T. Burgess, Jr. of Elgin, Texas, Clyde A. Burgess, Sr. of Georgetown, Texas, and Darryl F. Burgess of Tacoma, Washington; sisters, Mildred Williams of Milano, Texas, and Clara Hunt of Pflugerville, Texas; grandchildren, Jasmine, Clyde Jr., Kiana, Darryl II, Sydney, Lillian Vinnie, William Drake; and a host of relatives and friends.
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