Remembering Betty Burgess: Girl with the Curl

With baby Caryn and those adorable cuffed jeans

March 16, 1935 - April 15, 2016

Betty Nell Hamm met the love of her life at a birthday party in 1947, when she was just 12 years old. Lee Roy Burgess said it was love at first sight. They were engaged six years later, following the bride-to-be's unforgettable Christmas-time rendition of "Santa Baby" sung to an audience of one. They were married in 1954, in Los Angeles, California.

With careful planning, coupon-clipping, elbow grease and an unshakable belief that everyone has time to iron (yes, even your underthings and linens), Betty survived her husband's early Naval deployments, his steady but rotating shift work, raising five kids, learning to drive at the age of 23, a house fire at Christmas and career-long stints at the California Division of Highways in L.A. and the Department of Motor Vehicles in Whittier. She drove to work in style in her sharp '57 Chevy.

Betty was well known for her great kindness and thoughtfulness, and for never ever forgetting a birthday, anniversary or holiday.

She is survived by her husband and best friend of 62 years, Lee Roy Burgess, and her five children: Caryn Sue Gonzales (and spouse Michael), Michael Dwyane Burgess (and spouse Napua), Robert Glenn Burgess (and partner Alicia Tovar), Barbara Ellen Earl (and spouse Steven) and Nancy Elaine Graham (and spouse Steven). Betty was well known as a lover of babies and children, thus she will be greatly missed by her many beloved grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind her last surviving sibling, her dear brother, Lowell Dean Hamm and his family.

A memorial service and celebration of life will take place at Rose Hills Mortuary on Friday, April 22, at 1 p.m. in the Rainbow Chapel (with a graveside service to follow). A viewing will take place the evening before, Thursday, April 21, from 5-8:30 p.m., also at Rose Hills. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that contributions be made in her name to the Alzheimer's Foundation (alzfdn.org).

Remembering Betty Burgess

Girl with the Curl

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