Fred George Burgess

BURGESS, STRATTON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 4/28/2015 at 23:58:03

Monona County, Iowa History 1982

Fred and Olive Burgess

Fred George Burgess was born in Onawa May 20 1899. He attended Onawa School, and was baptized in the Christian Church there. His family moved to the Smithland area and farmed for A.W. Burgess. They didn’t live very far from his wife-to-be, Olive Lorraine Stratton. They courted a while, and on July 29, 1919 Fred and Ollie took the train to Onawa to be married. They returned to the Smithland, Oto area where he helped his uncle farm. All 10 of their children were born in this area. They are; Walter Delmar born February 13, 1920, Gordon Dean September 6, 1922, Newell Wilbur February 27, 1924, Bonnie Mae September 6, 1925, E Louise January 27, 1927, Helen Marie March 5, 1929, George Oliver October 23, 1932, Ruby Lu February 3, 1934, Vesta Leone February 28, 1939, who died at birth and Florence Lorraine born June 9, 1940.

Fred worked on W.P.A., helping build roads in that area and in January 1943 he brought his family to Onawa where he was working for the Green Gable Builders. He continued working there until the fall of 1959. He then took care of lawns and storm windows for different people in the area. A tree fell across his legs and he was unable to keep these jobs. He did keep up his own yard work.

Fred used to play a lot of basketball in his younger years. He also liked to play horse shoes and he bowled for the "Gables" team for quite a few years. He also enjoys a good game of cribbage.

Mrs. Burgess was the daughter of Lyman and Gurtha Holliday Stratton. She was born January 5, 1900 at Smithland. She had two brothers, Elias and Victor "Dick" and 2 sisters Goldie and Carrie. She was the granddaughter of Willard and Sara Dana Stratton of Smithland and Elias and Zeziah Wallace Holliday of Mapleton. Olive enjoyed everything concerning her home and family: fancy work of all kinds, quilting and canning: always having her jars full for the winter. She also enjoyed her many friends until the Lord took her home July 11, 1959.

Fred is recuperating from a recent bout with pneumonia at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Whiting.