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Show Free Press - Thursday, April 28, 1983 - Page 12 Lehi school loses team to retirement By BETTY FOWLER Lehi schools will lose nearly 60 years of educational experience when Dale and Afton Burgess retire this spring. They comprise a teaching team that has influenced thousands of Lehi students. Dale Burgess is retiring from Alpine School District after 33 years of service. For the last 21 years he has been principal of the Lehi Elementary School. Afton has been a teacher in Lehi since 1962 and taught in Alpine and Lindon before coming to Lehi. is ever since. Their three children, Brian, Gary and Deonne have all graduated from BYU. They are all married and the Burgess' hav nine grandchildren. Deonne and Gary have followed their parents footsteps by also becoming teachers. in Education and Educational AdBYU in 1954." in my blood, two sisters are teachers and mother was a teacher. I really enjoyed bachelors degree masters in ministration from "I guess it was a teaching." Afton interrupted her husband's reminiscing, "He used to call every kid in school by their first name." "That's changed a little since then," Dale laughed. "I met a former student at a wedding recently. She came up to me saying, 'Do you remember me? You used to be my teacher.' Of course I remembered her after she told me her name. Children change so much from the sixth grade on. I see them in two years and don't know them." A young man came up to me the other day and said "Remember when 1 was so mean?" I don't remember him being so mean. I guess being mean was a sort of status symbol in those days." Children often visit at the Burgess home, "We get lots of calls, visits and dandelion bouquets and we love it," Afton said. Apparently the ignominy of being a substitute teacher didn't bother the intrepid educator because she substituted in every grade from Kindergarten to sixth grade. She later received a B.S. degree from BYU and has taken classes from the University of Utah and Utah State University. Mrs. Burgess returned to the classroom in 1962 teaching kindergarten at Sego Lily Elementary in Lehi. She later moved to third grade and feels no matter what the grade, children are special, and her single aim has been to see that they were well taught. "Teaching DALE BURGESS A teaching career "Kindergarten that spans over started teaching fifth grade in the old Lindon Elementary School in 1950. After four years he was transferred to the sixth grade at Sharon Elementary School which had just been completed. Two years later, in 1956, he was appointed principal of the new Sego Lily School in Lehi. He has been a part of the growth of Alpine District from nine small community schools to 29 large modern elementary schools. Of the old schools, only Cedar Valley and Spencer are still being used. Dale was born in Alpine and shortly after his birth the family moved to the family farm in Highland where he lived until he was nine. After the death of his father, the family moved back to children si AFTON BURGESS Her teaching career began when she was a child in Alpine. She'd gather the neighborhood children together and play school, always acting the role of the teacher. "One time I painted a mother, dad, brother and sister and wrote the words clear across the front of Alpine. He attended Alpine the house. We couldn't get it off. My Elementary School through the dad was mad at me and made me eighth grade. At the American Fork try to scrub it off with a curry High School he was active in brush." athletics, being captain of the The incident did little to ' football team, a charter member of discourage Afton's '' the National Honor Society, and a teaching career. After graduation president of the senior class. He from American Fork High School attended BYU and graduated with a she graduated from BYU with a B.S. Degree in Horticulture in 1943. three year Normal, the last year "I never intended to be a teacher. such certificates were issued in the I went to college, went into the state of Utah. She taught second service and received a commission grade for one year at Spencer as a navy officer and served as an School in Orem where there were 57 officer on a mine children in her class. The next year and a half she taught a combination sweeper." Dale remembered. On a leave from the navy in 1943, first and second grade in Alpine. he married Afton Devey, a home After her marriage to Dale they town girl. "I really got started moved to Miami, then New York, teaching in church classes. I loved Philadelphia, and Virginia before the children and when I got out of returning to Utah. They moved to the navy I went back and got a Lehi in 1959 and have resided here teacher. For math she is teaching us about centimeters and meters." Serving in church and civic positions has been a big part of their lives: Dale has spent a term on the Alpine City Council, Chairman of planning commissions in Alpine and Lehi and has served for many years on city recreation committees. In the LDS Church he has served as a bishop and in the past nine years, as a counselor in the Lehi North Stake Presidency. ' Afton has been a member of the Lehi Library Board and has held many positions in the LDS Church: teacher, chorister, president of both : ward and stake MIA, ward Primary : president and as counselor in the: stake Primary. Much time has been : '. '. to devoted teacher; teaching development courses, a position she ; ; holds at the present time. The Burgess team may be and-hall- s retiring from the classroom of the Sego Lily and Lehi' ' Elementary Schools, but the effects of their lifelong service to others; will be reflected for years to come. '. Second and third generations of: students whose lives have been; touched by the teachings and; examples of two inspired people are still leaving dandelion bouquets and love notes at the Burgess' (i are Itcust kinder and more uninhibited, while third graders are not afraid to tell what they think you want to hear. They are honest," Afton admitted. She recalls many incidents that brought laughter and joy to her days. One day a little girl whose mother had just had a new baby came to school with her hair in total disarray. She caught her favorite teacher looking at her hair and said, "If it looks stupid, my dad did it!" Another time her kindergarteners were being taught the song, "Sing A Song Of Sixpence," when they got to the part where the queen was in the parlor, one little girl asked "what's a parlor?" A little boy answered "that's where you drink beer?" A little girl argued, "No it's not, that's where mom gets her hair done!" Afton recalls that it was always a thrill when a new month rolled around and she'd change all the bulletin boards. "A little girl walked into the room right after I'd changed the decorations. She looked H the room and was just 'Oh Mrs. Burgess, it . awesu feels iiiaiae of me like I've never been here before!'" One child always came to school early. Her patient teacher finally asked why. "Mother always gruffed at me and you don't!" the girl answered. The word "gruffed" has since become a Burgess byword. Afton was going to retire at" the end of 1983; Dale hadn't made plans to take the big step. "But the more I thought about it, the nicer it sounded and the more I wanted to. We wanted to be together." began when Dale three decades was kindergarten never boring. I remember at the beginning of each new year I'd take the boys and girls into the little restrooms on the first day of school and show them the facilities. To satisfy their curiosity I showed the boys the girls room and the girls the boys latrine. I showed the girls how to flush the boys toilets and one little girl asked in her kindergarten lisp, "Teacho, How come we don't have a shower in our bathroom?" years, and I have never known him to be unfair or unprofessional. He is a great leader and a super guy! I "We'll have time to visit our him the best." wish children now, and there's so much I "A teacher affects eternity; he want to do around the house and tell where his influence never can yard," Afton said. This quote by Henry Adams stops." "We want to quit while we're the feeling students and typifies young. We want to visit our kids, about the Burgesses. have parents and do a little traveling. Gary's in Clark said, "as a parent of a Kathy down we'll visit there," Arizona, lucky third grade student who atanticipates Dale. tends Mrs. Burgess' class, I am He's an avid craftsman, enjoys excited to see my daughter excited building, mechanics, and will now about learning. The times I have these to to devote have the time been in the classroom Mrs. Burgess pursuits. ' "I wish I was young again. There teaches with praise. She never raises her voice; she just praises are so many exciting things in those who are doing good and soon education now: space, the computer the whole class in achieving age; I'd like to see the district because of their desire for her pulling together, see some of the We could all take a page small things coming together. We approval. book: from her don't condemn the need to build on each other's fault but praise the good. Her strengths. I kind of hate to leave, influences will never stop. I but I'm looking forward to having remember well my third grade more time to be with our family," teacher and I'm sure my daughter Dale said. will also." Marlin Barnes, a teacher at Lehi Kathy's daughter, Kimberly, Elementary said, "He will be wrote "I like Mrs. Burgess for a missed. Certainly, after as many teacher because she is nice and she years of service as he has given, he lets me do things I like when my is going to be missed by many, work is finished. She teaches me my many people. Not only by the short division and my long division students but the teachers and and she teaches me my times everyone else that have had the tables. I'm on my eight times tables opportunity to work with him. I because she helped me with them. I have worked for Mr. Burgess for 16 like school because she's my Colognes - sfees Sitcm Perfumes Charlie - Chantilly CIE - Aviance Vanderbilt - Ciara Nina Ricci - Cerissa Windsong Norell S .i ! MOTHER'S DAY Af Cosmetics SMITH DRUG and 24 W. Main Jewelry Am. 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