Esther Julia Burgess Was a Woman of Conviction

Esther Julia (Taylor) Burgess of Vineyard Haven died Monday morning, June 7, at the age of 93. Mrs. Burgess was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada on May 29, 1911 to the late Thomas R. and Julia (O'Ree) Taylor.

She was the devoted wife of the late Rt. Rev. John Melville Burgess, who predeceased her on August 24, 2003. Mrs. Burgess and her husband lived for many years in Newton Centre and started summering on Martha's Vineyard in 1963. They became year-round Islanders in 1989. She was member of Grace Episcopal Church, Vineyard Haven and the Martha's Vineyard Chapter of NAACP and also the Union of Black Episcopalians.

Mrs. Burgess was the beloved mother of Julia Burgess of Washington, D.C., and Margaret B. Harrison of Boston; loving grandmother of Lisa Joyner, Yvonne Williams Weaver, and Kevin Williams; loving great-grandmother of Hewitt Joyner IV and Alysse Joyner. She also leaves a host of other relatives and friends.

Her funeral will held at noon on Thursday, June 10, at Grace Episcopal Church, 36 Woodlawn avenue, Vineyard Haven; relatives and friends are kindly invited. Interment will follow in the family lot at the Oak Grove Cemetery, Vineyard Haven. Her visiting hours will be Wednesday evening, June 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. Memorial donations may be made to the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, 46 Elm street, Byfield, MA 01922 or the Martha's Vineyard NAACP, P.O. Box 1520, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. For more information, directions and an online guest book, visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com.