Ann Zonette Davenport Burgess' Obituary
Zonette Burgess, entered into the presence of her savior on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 after a long illness.
Born in Freeport, TX on August 11, 1936, she was the daughter of the late, Joseph I. Davenport and Francis Miriam Davenport. Zonette grew up in the small town of Port Sulphur, LA where she learned to play the piano, sing and pitch a mean softball. Music was a large part of her life and she was a church pianist and sang in church for most of her life. She attended college at LSU in Baton Rouge as a young woman, and later completed a bachelor's degree in secondary education at Dickinson State University in North Dakota in 1973.
Her life was one of service to the Lord and ministry to others whether in her years of missions work as a pastor's wife in North Dakota, Washington state and Canada or her years of teaching young adults in a vocational school in Louisiana to support her five children after the loss of her first husband in 1972.
In 1983, Zonette married William Burgess of Fredericksburg, VA and became a loving step-mother to his two daughters, Angela and Lesa. She started a new life and career in Virginia as a civilian Navy employee and was well-loved by her co-workers who dubbed her 'Z'. She was a faithful member of Falmouth Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School. She had tremendous faith in God, an unshakeable ability to be thankful even in the midst of great tribulation and she moved through life with a quiet strength and determination that comforted and lifted up those around her.
Zonette is survived by her loving husband of 36 years, William P. Burgess; her children, Janet Gray Tobin (Byron), Mell Gray Woodruff (Michael), Thomas H. Gray, Jr. (Susan), and Joseph Davenport Gray; her brother, Robert Davenport (Diane); and sister, Delores Ellender. She leaves five grandchildren who she loved dearly, Jessica, Michael, Meghan, Morgan and Mitchell.
She was preceded in death by the father of her children, Rev. Thomas Harrison Gray; her son, John Thomas Gray; and her brothers, Clyde Davenport and Riley Davenport.
Zonette’s family will receive friends from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 10719 Courthouse Road in Fredericksburg, with a service celebrating her life at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.
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