John C. Burgess

John C. Burgess, age 74, of The Dalles, Oregon passed peacefully away on January 29, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana after a lengthy illness. His wife Jan Villarrubia was by his side. John was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to John T. and M. Carla (Dodd) Burgess. He was a graduate of Lusher School, Benjamin Franklin High School and Tulane University where he earned his degree in Electrical Engineering. John served as an officer in the US Navy and was active in the USS Waldron Alumni Association. John worked as Electrical Engineer for his entire career starting in Los Angeles, California then Bossier Electric (Shreveport, Louisiana) and in Oregon for Midstate Electric Cooperative (La Pine) and Wasco Electric Cooperative (The Dalles). Besides being a devoted parent to his two daughters from his first marriage to Louise M. Zeringue, lifelong interests included hiking and camping, nature, architecture, trains and streetcars, Model A Fords, movie palaces and pipe organs. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Carla C. Burgess. In addition to his wife Jan Villarrubia, he is survived by his two daughters, Louise-Annette Burgess (spouse Michael Conrad) and Melissa Burgess (spouse Adam Halpern) and his three beloved grandchildren: Emma, Talia, and Noam. A graveside service will be held in Garden of Memories Cemetery, 4900 Airline Drive in Metairie, LA at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 10, 2018. To access the interment site, please follow the red arrows. In lieu of flowers, tax deductible memorials may be made to the following 501(c)(3) organizations: the Orange Empire Railway Museum, http://www.oerm.org/make-a-donation or to Mercy Corps, https://www.mercycorps.org/donate. The online guestbook is available is at www.gardenofmemoriesmetairie.com.