William Leslie Burgess Jr., age 93, of Crossville, Tennessee died on Saturday, January 29, 2022, formerly of Bedford, Pennsylvania.
He was born on July, 16, 1928 in DeLeon, Texas, the son of the late William Leslie Burgess Sr. and Ora Grace (Jenkins) Burgess.
On January 3, 1987 he married the former Carol Jean (Furnari) Flanigan in Fairfax County, Virginia. She survives him.
He is also survived by a daughter, Tammy Jane Burgess of Manassas, Virginia, a son, John Carter Burgess the husband of the former Kathleen Ann Wyrick, a granddaughter, Kaila Noelle Burgess, and a stepdaughter, Eve Marie Flanigan of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Mr. Burgess was a member of the Fairfield Glade United Methodist Church of Crossville, Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 through 1969, retiring in the rank of Commander. He flew 103 combat missions during the Korean War and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and six combat Air medals. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland and served four tours in Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E). He also graduated from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
After retiring from the U.S. Navy, he worked for the Grumman Aerospace Corporation in Bethpage, New York and Hercules Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, West Virginia, retiring in 1991.
Friends will be received on Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 2:00-3:00pm at the Fairfield Glade United Methodist Church with a service immediately following at 3:00pm.
