William R. Burgeson

A celebration of Bill's life is planned for later this spring.

William "Bill" Burgeson was born on July 8th, 1958, at Worthington Municipal Hospital to Dorothy and Russell Burgeson. He joined his big sister Gayla at the Round Lake, MN farm and later his little brother Ryan, who completed the family. The family moved into a new house they built in Lake Park, IA in 1963. Bill started kindergarten in Lake Park in 1964. Due to his grandpa Roy's health problems, the family switched houses and they moved out to the family farm south of Harris, IA in 1965. Bill then attended Excelsior Elementary and later Harris Middle School. He graduated from Harris-Lake Park High School in1977, where he was active in football, wrestling and choir.

Bill attended Iowa State University and graduated in the spring of 1981 with a degree in Agricultural Business and Management. Following college, he moved to Amarillo, TX where he lived, while working in accounting for the next five years. Bill briefly explored California while spending time with his brother, Ryan. Bill returned to Lake Park, Iowa in 1987 where he started working at Sathers. He was employed there for the next ten years. Upon his return to Iowa, he met former partner Sue and her daughter Kate. Bill quickly became a loving and dependable father figure to Kate. Long after he and Sue both moved on, he remained a devoted surrogate dad to Kate until his last days.

Bill's first RAGBRAI was in 1987 which he completed with friends. He went on to complete numerous rides across the state for many years. RAGBRAI became a family event when Bill convinced his dad, Russ, and his brother Ryan to join him in 1989. Later his sister Gayla and brother in law Tim also joined in the great ride across Iowa. When he wasn't riding bike, he was also a member of the Lake Park Golf & Country Club, using his dad's golf cart as much as possible.

In 1997, Bill moved to Iowa City, IA. He worked for J.M. Swank, a ConAgra company, from 1997 until his retirement in 2019.

Bill was his happiest in retirement and was always up for a new adventure. You could find him packing up his cramper (his SUV he converted into a "camper") to go on road trips to the Florida Keys or Utah to hike Moab. Prior to his cramper days, he spent many years enjoying long motorcycle rides on his Harleys. Bill loved being outdoors. You could also find him kayaking, biking, golfing, or playing PickleBall most any day of the week. Bill was also a devoted Christian, something instilled in him from a young age by his loving mom, Dottie. Bill was heavily involved with his church family, attending weekly services as well as annual retreats with friends that he always looked forward to.

Bill was a devoted partner to his best friend and love, Cherie Harms. They became a couple in 2018. The love they shared was the highlight of Bill's life.

Bill passed away in his sleep on February 20th, 2026. He is preceded in death by his parents Russell & Dottie Burgeson and his nephew Wesley. He is survived by his sister Gayla (Timothy) Pleggenkuhle, brother Ryan (Cheryl) Burgeson and girlfriend Cherie Harms and Haley. He is also survived by Jason (Lindsay) Pleggenkuhle, Jackson and Liam, Kyle Pleggenkuhle, Kate (Tony) Kanne, Olivia and William, as well as Caitlynn (Jason) Elvis, Addie and Macie, Kristin Burgeson, and Faith (Josh) McDaniel, Bethany and Waylon, including many other family and friends.