Robert ‘Skip’ Burgess, 82

Cresco -  Robert ‘Skip’ Burgess, age 82 of Cresco, Iowa, died Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 at his home in Cresco. 

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.

Skip was born March 20, 1933 in Cresco to Henry and Jeanne (Walton) Burgess.

He graduated from Cresco High School in 1950, then attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Skip held a number of jobs in Iowa, New York and Wisconsin and was especially proud of working with young people seeking job training through his work with the Job Corp and the Neighborhood Youth Corps programs and Job Training at Luther College. 

During retirement he took care of his mother and his beloved dogs, Buster and Charlie, whom he took for frequent walks around Cresco. Skip spent a lot of time with his model planes, building them and flying them. He enjoyed fishing throughout Northeast Iowa and golfing in Cresco and Riceville. An avid music lover, he played both piano and clarinet, ukulele and various other instruments. As an avid sports fan, Skip followed many teams, especially the University of Iowa Hawkeye teams.

Denise Steffens provided much care and friendship to Skip the past two years.

Skip is survived by his sister, Carol Hite of Edina, Minn.; two nieces, Sarah Lewis of Milwaukee, Wis. and Mary (Bert) Hill of Poway, Calif.; six grand-nieces and nephews, Matthew, Michael, and Meghan Lewis and Ethan, Elliott and Natalie Hill. He is further survived by his dogs, Buster and Charlie.

Skip is preceded in death by his parents; a brother-in-law, George Hite; and his niece, Sarah’s, husband, David.