Merlin R. Burgess

Merlin R. Burgess 09/21/1927 - 08/25/2014 Merlin R. Burgess was born in Abbeville, Alabama to Robert Tilman and Minnie Bell (nee Benton) Burgess and raised in Marianna, Florida. He was one of five sons, all of whom worked with their father in his sawmill and later growing vegetables, peanuts and tobacco. Merlin started driving one of the sawmill trucks at age 7 and applied for and received his first bank loan at age 12, to finance his own lawn service business. By age 16 he was a member of the Florida Guard. When his unit was called to war he gladly complied. After basic training he was immediately sent to Vint Hill Farms, VA and assigned to Army Security Agency where he was trained in radio surveillance. At a very young age he found himself in the hills above Nagasaki, Japan from where he reported seaport activities. He was extracted hours before Nagasaki was destroyed. He remained in occupied Japan until 1946. He kept this information to himself for more than fifty years. Upon returning home, he married his childhood sweetheart, Bobbie Childs. They moved to Georgia where he attended Georgia Tech on the GI Bill. In his later career he worked out of Catalytic Corp. (United Engineers) as an Instrumentation Engineer. His various job sites included many Nuclear Power Plants, Pharmaceutical Companies and he was most proud of his work at "The Cape". After his early retirement he brought Bobbie to Hardee County, where, for her final days, she could be close to their daughter. He may be remembered locally as a service man for Robert Palmer Electric in Avon Park. Merlin is survived by his wife Regina; his daughter Franka Butler (Avon Park); step-sons Chris and Danny Chandler (Key West and Cape Coral); his granddaughter Auden Chandler (Cape Coral) and his brother Jack (Christine) of Marianna, FL. Merlin was an honorable gentleman with a marvelous sense of humor and great wit and a passion for fishing. He was a Florida Panhandle Classic and will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. Funeral arrangements will be at Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, Sebring Parkway, Sebring, FL with viewing at 1 p.m. and service beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday August 30th and interment at Wauchula City Cemetery immediately following. Friends and family are invited to a luncheon prior to the viewing (11:30a.m.) at Calvary Baptist Church, US 27 (Across from South Florida State College) Avon Park. The family wishes to thank Good Shepherd Hospice for their compassionate care. Arrangements entrusted to: Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home of Sebring (863) 385-0125 www.stephensonnelsonfh.com