James E. Burgess

MADISON - James Edward Burgess passed away on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, at the UW Hospital in Madison. His death fell on the 63rd anniversary of his wedding to Catherine E. Burgess who, together with his four children, was present to love and support him as he passed.

Jim was born in La Crosse, Wis., on April 5, 1936, to William T. and Margaret F. Burgess.  He grew up in La Crosse, second of three Burgess boys. It was a youth marked by memories of lots of mischief with his lifelong friend, Dr. Jerome Gundersen. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and throughout his life was a significant financial supporter of the University and a regular attendee at Badgers football and basketball games.

Professionally, Jim was a consummate journalist… until the end.  He was a paperboy as a kid, worked on the UW campus newspaper, The Daily Cardinal as a student, eventually becoming its business manager.  His journalism career was briefly interrupted by four years of service in the U.S. Air Force after graduation when, stationed in Germany, he served as an aircraft controller monitoring flights over eastern Europe in the early days of the Cold War.

Upon completion of his military service, he returned to journalism and began working for Lee Enterprises, as his father and grandfather had done before him.  He held senior positions at the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa, at the Missoulian, in Missoula, Mont., at the Independent Record, in Helena, Mont., and at theLa Crosse Tribune, where he was the third generation Burgess to hold the position of publisher.  

Jim might have remained at the La Crosse Tribune, but he was called to higher service as Executive Vice President of Newspapers at Lee Enterprises, the parent company of both the La Crosse Tribune and the Wisconsin State Journal. As Vice President of Newspapers, he was responsible for 19 newspapers in the Midwest and Western U.S. during a period when the company became highly successful. Then, after 13 years at the executive level, Jim left the corporate office and returned to his first love, the daily running of a great newspaper in a dynamic town, becoming publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal where he remained for the next 10 years until his retirement.

“Retirement” brought new interests and involvement in the Madison community.  Jim was an active and engaged board member for Edgewood College, the UW Hospitals and Clinics, and the Madison Center for the Arts, as well as a key donor for the Overture Center.  

A crowning achievement of Jim’s career was his work with the UW School of Journalism and Mass Communication to create the James E. Burgess Chair of Journalism Ethics. The Chair was the cornerstone of what would become the Center for Journalism Ethics, now an internationally recognized hub for reflection, education and activism in the field. Under the leadership of its current director, Kathleen Bartzen Culver, the center has come alive with events and programs that question, challenge and advance the ethical well-being of journalism and journalists.

Since boyhood, Jim devoted his free time to the outdoors.  He was a bird hunter, a fisherman, and a super-putzer, who always had a tree to cut up or something to “fix.”  Jim followed his father’s lead by building a home on Lac Courte Oreilles Lake near Hayward in northern Wisconsin.  He dragged his large-ish family to that beloved place at every possible occasion: for summers, long weekends and all holidays, the old station wagon pulling a trailer for the eight-hour drive from Davenport, Iowa, overflowing with a family of six and all its gear.  He worked to establish a conservancy for the land around the lake and was active in COLA, the Courte Oreilles Lake Association.  He sailed, pulled water skiers, toodled around on his pontoon boat, and never failed to assist other boaters in distress.

Jim also loved “the farm,” a large property he bought near Portage, in an uncommonly rich part of Wisconsin, full of creeks, ponds, trails, and trees.  In other words: a source of endless outdoor projects!  He built a log cabin there, bought a few tractors, revitalized ponds, put up birdhouses and mowed, over and over.

Jim was father to four adult children: Kary Deuel (Jim), Peter (Karen Hostens), Sydney (Al McMillian) and Curtis (Donna Peota).  He was grandfather to eleven:  Benjamin and Elizabeth (Kary); Åsne, Tale and Jonas (Peter); Virginia, Cullen, Tait and Rebekah (Sydney); and Quinn and Aiden (Curtis).  To them he was known as Gampie. He taught them naughty words, sneaked them treats, but most of all gave each of them unconditional acceptance and love, according to each one’s particular needs and situation.  He is also survived by three brothers, Steve (Joan) of Naples, Fla., and Tom of Hayward, Wis.

Jim loved a good wind, a sharp chainsaw, his family, Johnny Walker Red, Good & Plenty candies, bathing in the lake, his dogs, his toys, holding forth at the dinner table, Madison journalism, his life-long friends, and, of course, his wife, Cathie, or “Catherine!” as he frequently called her.

The family has chosen to hold a service of celebration sometime this summer, to which all who esteemed or loved Jim will be warmly invited. For those wishing to make a memorial gift at this time, we ask that you consider Jim’s cherished organizations: Courte Oreilles Lakes Association (COLA), PO Box 702, Hayward, WI 54843 or Center of Journalism Ethics, School of Journalism and Mass Media, 5115 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706.  

The family also wishes to acknowledge the extraordinary professionalism and care provided by the Madison Police Department, the Madison Emergency Medical Services, the Emergency Room staff of the UW Hospital, and especially the care team in the Trauma and Life Support Center (TLC) of the UW Hospital. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care

7435 University Ave.

(608) 831-6761