Talmadge R. “Pete” Burgess passed away at his home in Durham on Sunday, June 1. He was 92.
Burgess was a native of Vance County and proudly gave back to his community for decades, farming in the Epsom community and making the Vance County Regional Farmers Market a reality.
In a 2020 interview with WIZS, Burgess said “If you’re living in the community, you need to be a part of it. You need to be involved in what’s going on and have your input…help in any way that you can.”
Whether it was with the Epsom Fire Department, his church or other community organizations, Burgess lived into those words.
Largely through his efforts, Vance County was able to open its farmers market in 2014.
He was a founding member of the Vance County Regional Farmers Market and was acknowledged for his visionary leadership in leading the charge for funding and organizing the building of the current Farmers Market facility. A plaque hangs in the market today acknowledging Burgess for his role in getting the market up and running.
“It was not an easy project,” Burgess told WIZS back in 2020. It took several years before he pieces finally fell into place. But when they did, Vance County had something to be proud of.
The market, as it exists today, may have looked a little different had it not been for Burgess. Those roll-up garage style doors – with a $1,500 price tag in 2014 – were somewhat of an add-on.
“It was the easiest money I had to raise,” Burgess said, noting that he approached businesses to help pay for the cost of the doors that visitors and vendors see today at the market.
Burgess attended N.C. State University and studied agricultural engineering on an ROTC scholarship. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. He worked as a safety engineer for the Liberty Mutual Insurance industry for 10 years, with various locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. In 1968 he came home to Vance County to operate a farm, where he grew tobacco, grain, hay, and sweet corn, among other crops.
He was well known for his knowledge of planting, harvesting, curing tobacco and growing quality crops. He took pride in his farming, always strived to nurture and enhance the land he farmed.
Burgess was a respected member of the Epsom Community, willing to lend a hand to his neighbors and share his expertise with other farmers. An active community volunteer, he served as a board member and president to the Vance County Farm Bureau organization from 1978-1996. He also was a member of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Board of Directors, the Farm Bureau State Executive Board, and the NC Farm Bureau Scholarship Committee.
Burgess had a long history of service to his community and to Vance County. He received the Vance County Community Hero award in 2012. He was a past president and board member of the Epsom Lions Club; past board member of the Epsom Volunteer Fire Department; worked with the Perry Memorial Library Building Committee to secure funding for the Farm Bureau Community meeting room; past board member of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce; and past member of the Vance County Planning Board.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Henderson and served as a president of his Sunday School class and volunteered with the Methodist Men’s group.
He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Sylvia Smith Burgess; son Daryl and wife Darline; daughter Susan Hughes and husband Lyn; daughter-in-law Michele Burgess; grandsons Justin Burgess and wife Mehegan, Bryan Hughes and wife Kaylee, and Nolan Hughes and special friend Allison Wise; great granddaughters Virginia Parks Burgess and Lawson Burgess; and sister Lorraine Watkins and husband Eugene. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Juanita Burgess Robinson, and his son Talmadge Burgess, Jr.
Visitation with the family will be held on Tuesday, June 3, from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the home of Michele Burgess, 6876 NC Highway 39 South, Henderson, NC. A graveside burial service will be held on Wednesday, June 4 at 2 p.m. at Liberty Christian Church, 7818 NC Highway 39 South, Henderson NC. A service of celebration will be held following the burial at 3 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 114 Church St. in Henderson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Vance-Granville Community College Foundation – T.R. Burgess Sr. Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 917, Henderson, NC 27536. Or to the First United Methodist Church Memorial Fund in memory of T.R. Burgess, Sr., 114 Church St., Henderson, NC. 27536. J.M. White Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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