Claudia Rena Burgess

January 1, 1942 - May 3, 2020

Claudia Burgess passed away peacefully on May 3, 2020, at the Bailey Community Hospice in St. Augustine FL. Claudia was born January 1, 1942, just seconds after midnight, as the first baby of the year in Lewiston ME. She was a graduate of Lewiston High School class of 1960 and met her future husband, Donald Burgess at a bonfire in Popham Beach ME in 1963. Not long after, Claudia and Donald were married on May, 23, 1964 and began their journey as a Navy family. They were assigned to Jacksonville FL for three tours of duty, and both of their children were born in the Jacksonville area. Others tours of duty took the family to Maryland, Virginia, Keflavik (Iceland), where they enjoyed many visits to Europe, and Atsugi (Japan), which allowed them to extensively travel Asia as well. When they finally returned to the United States in 1981, Claudia began a long career in Real Estate in the Orange Park, FL and St. Augustine, FL areas. She loved the fact that her career allowed her to work from a different “office” everyday and help people find that special place to begin or experience their lives. When Claudia finally retired, it was because of her love of family. She wanted to help raise her grandchildren in their early years and found great joy in this new career. Claudia also enjoyed long walks with Don and their dachshunds on Crescent Beach, biking on the beach, kayaking on the intracoastal, and spending time with all of her family and friends, including Bob and Rosemary Kosakoski of Atlanta, GA, their closest friends for over 40 years. Claudia is survived by her husband of 56 years, Donald, a retired Naval officer, son Dr. Eric Burgess and wife Kim (Ponte Vedra Beach), daughter Laura (Belle) Burgess (Jaibalito, Guatemala), grandchildren Eli Burgess, Ella Burgess, and Lexi Vaccarello, sister Cynthia McAuliffe and husband Nick (St. Augustine), and nieces Lindsay (Jason) Hundley and her daughters Mallory and Milan (Santee CA), and Casey Furr (Santee, CA) and her children Lillian and Carson. A celebration of life will be held at a later date for family and friends to say goodbye one last time to Claudia and remember the joy and love she brought to those lives she touched.