FRAMINGHAM: Herbert W. Burgess, age 94, a longtime MBTA employee and World War II veteran, died peacefully on Thursday morning, December 4, 2014, at Oak Knoll Healthcare Center in Framingham, his home for the past seven years. He was the devoted husband of the late Mary Elizabeth (Ray) Burgess.
Born and raised in Somerville, he was a son of the late William and Josephine (Nadeau) Bourgeois. Herb was a graduate of both Saint Catherine’s School and Somerville High School. He worked with his father at the Park Plaza in Boston, specializing in carpentry and upholstering until enlisting in the Army during World War II. He served as Corporal in the European Theatre, and was engaged in battles in Normandy, Northern France, The Rhineland, and The Ardennes. He had earned a Combat Infantryman Badge and received numerous citations and a Purple Heart.
Herb returned to Somerville and became employed with the Mass Transportation Authority (MTA), later the MBTA, as a bus operator. He and Mary Elizabeth married and settled in his home town to raise their own family. He enjoyed family trips to Cape Cod whenever possible and was prone to home projects. After many years as a driver along the Waverly and Huron Avenue Line, Herb retired in 1984. He and Mary Elizabeth happily split their time between a new home in Arlington and their mobile home in Mashpee until her death in 2005.
Herb had been active with the Somerville American Legion, the George Dilboy VFW Somerville Post 529, and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 27, Somerville.
Predeceased by Mary Elizabeth and their daughter, Maureen Burgess, at age 12, he is survived by their son, Kevin W. Burgess and his wife Pamela Mosher of Natick; four grandchildren, Michele Sheppard and her husband Michael of East Bridgewater, Stacey Edwards and her husband Patrick of Middleboro, Kelli McCarty and her husband Shaun of Bridgewater, and Kevin R. Burgess and his partner Tina of New York; and 8 great-grandchildren, Nichole, Ryan, Rachel, Nora, Mackenzie, Christopher, Riley, and Carter.
A family gathering will be held at the Massachusetts National Cemetery where Herb will be buried next to his wife after honors are rendered in recognition of his service to our country.