Oscar B. Burgeson

Oscar Burge Burgeson, 99, of Farmington and formerly of Bristol, died peacefully on May 3, 2023. 

Oscar, who was born on Sept. 3, 1923, was the son of Knut and Sonja Burgeson (nee) Karlsson. He was born in Motola, Sweden, and he immigrated to the United States in 1926. His first job was assisting a milkman in making deliveries with the help of a horse-drawn cart.

A graduate of Bristol High School, Oscar worked at New Departure during the war years as a machinist, and later was a designer for the E. Ingraham & Company, both in Bristol. He later worked at Stanley Tools in New Britain, first designing hardware and later designing hand tools. 

While at the Ingraham company, he was a member of the team that developed the so-called “snooze button” for the company’s popular electric alarm clock. At Stanley Tools, Oscar received several company design awards for patents on tools such as a wire cutter, hammers and a spring clip to hold a screw onto a screwdriver.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Theresa Gentile Burgeson, who died in 2019. His sister, Thelma Johnson, of Brooklyn Park, Minn., died in 2016.

He was an avid skier and tennis player, and he played tennis into his 90s. He treasured his annual family vacations on Cape Cod, a tradition that began in the mid-50s and continued into the 1990s.  He also enjoyed gardening and carpentry. In retirement he perfected the art of making Swedish pancakes; his father was a baker.  He and Terry also traveled throughout Europe and the United States on trips that Oscar enjoyed planning. He also was a frequent op-ed contributor to The Bristol Press.

He is survived by his loving daughter, Beth Burgeson, and her husband, Thom Serrani, of Ludlow, Vt,. He his also survived by his devoted son, John Burgeson, and his wife, Marilyn, of Stratford, and his favorite grandson, Benjamin Burgeson, of Stamford. He’s also survived by his brother, Arthur Bergeson, of Annandale, VA,, and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff of the Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain, as well as the staff at The Village Gate, Farmington, for their kindness and unending concern for his well-being. 

Burial will be private.