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(August 16, 1910 - October 25, 1995)
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TODAY October 25, we have experienced the passing of a very beautiful woman, Mary Burgum, gone to her peace in heaven above. She will always be remembered by those who loved her dearly, relatives, friends and anyone fortunate to have touched her life. A genial, pleasant person, so gentle, she had always time to listen and appreciate other people, not for-getting her very fertile brain, quick replies and memories.
A life that would have been fraught with dif-ficulties and grave hardships for any one else, she turned to advantage to help and cheer other people along life's way and found much happi-ness for herself.
She had lived in Baroon Pocket until the fam-ily decided to move over the other eastern side of the property and built the house with a won-derful view on the high top peak overlooking the ocean and along the Sunshine Coast.
When she was about twelve, she lost her elder brother Bill and their father in the flooded Obi Obi in the cyclone. Dressed in heavy rain gear, knee boots, oilskin coat and hat, they mounted the horses to muster the cows for milking on the old homestead side. They had to ride over the high hill where Mary later built her house to the eastern side of the property, when it all happened. The Obi was a roaring torrent and they rode the horses in. The cyclonic rain lasted a week. The father was picked up drowned, but Bill was not found till the rain stopped and the water subsided and the search found him washed up and caught under a ledge Bill was in my class at school, the brightest pupil and we all mourned his loss.
Mary stuck by her mother and the younger brothers. Mr. Francis, an uncle, later came to live with them. He had two children, Jack and Marjorie, and they assisted Mrs. Burgum and Mary. It was good to have a man on the farm with all the children. They grew up. The boys went away, Marjorie trained as a nurse and Mary loved her but she died early. Mr. Francis finally passed on and Jack remained with the mother and Mary.
Mary loved Jack like a brother and they gave him a share of the property, which I considered very wonderful and just. When Mary's mother went to her reward, Mary was 60 years old and her mother 92. Mary was very nervy and shocked in a bad way. She had given up all her social life and became isolated in those 60 years. I was president of CWA at that time and I said to her, "Come on Mary you'll have to move out amongst the people." My husband Ray and I took her with us to all the outings of CWA and there were many at that time. She lapped it all up and her health began to steady. I said to her, "Now we'll get you on the coaches." We attended Senior Citizens at Nambour every fortnight. Ray used to recite Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson. The coaches went out regularly, organized by Mrs. Charles of Nambour. We helped Mary on about three coach trips and after that she was on her own and continued to travel till the last couple of months. Her life was the joy of reading and those coach trips. She met a lot of people and corresponded with them. This was her world besides all the help she gave in the later years to the various clubs of Maleny - CWA, Red Cross, Senior Citizens to name just a few.
She was an intelligent and interesting per-son and so found much to interest her and other people. Even in age and health difficulties, she refused to leave her home, until she was carried into Maleny Hospital, where she passed away quietly on October 25, 1995.
God in his heaven blessed her. Many friends rolled round in the last few weeks and she en-joyed all the visits and was able to sit up and talk entertainingly between the bouts of pain.
She was a truly remarkable person. I loved her dearly. We were very close friends of eighty years, closer than many sisters. We were both only daughters and she would ring me two or three times a week sometimes when she had some news to tell me. She was the dearest and most valued friend I ever had. There are others who have gone before me. Hopefully some day we'll all meet again in God's good time.
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