| Graduation Year | Class of 1974 |
| Date of Birth | Jun 01, 1956 |
| Date of Passing | Feb 08, 2019 |
| About | Mr. Burgess, former owner and publisher of The Lawton Constitution, died Friday, February 8, 2019. Burgess and his brother, Brad W. Burgess, purchased the newspaper in 2012 from Don and Stephen F. Bentley. They later sold it to Southern Newspapers Inc. in 2018. Burgess is a native of Lawton, the son of the late Sgt. Bill Burgess Sr. and Betty Burgess. Burgess graduated from Cameron University and earned a law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He and his brother were partners in the law firm of Burgess and Hightower. Burgess was chairman of Vortex Inc., a holding company for real estate developments and technology companies. He also was chairman and principal owner of Techrizon (formerly TELOS-OK), now known as CGI, and he developed it into the largest Oklahoma software engineering company. He was active in many business organizations, including serving as chairman of Leadership Oklahoma, which honored him as the Distinguished Graduate for its 25th anniversary celebration in 2012. He had been chairman of the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and of the Lawton Chamber of Commerce. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2008, and he was named Corporate Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Burgess served two nine-year terms on the state Regents for Higher Education, the coordinating board for Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities, and was the youngest state regent in state history. In 2010 he was name as civilian aide to the secretary of the Army, promoting good relationships between the Army and the public by acting as spokesman for and adviser to the secretary of the Army. Burgess, an Eagle Scout, has served as president of the Oklahoma Council and is recipient of Scouting’s Silver Beaver award. He is survived by his children, Bradley Burgess and Beverly Burgess; his grandsons, Blake and Foster; his wife Kimera Carel and her children, Matt Carel and Sarah Yost and granddaughter, Clara; his former spouse, Sylvia Burgess and her husband John Courington and John’s mother Frances Thomsen; his siblings, Brad Burgess wife Karen, Bridget Burgess and Barbie Sheffield and husband W. Blaine; nephews and nieces, Martin Newby, Warren Newby, Christopher Tipps, Corbin Burgess, Taylor Veit, Brantley Sheffield and Braxton Sheffield; and several great nieces and nephews. |
