Evelyn “Burgess” Venezia, beloved wife 
of Ronald F. Venezia, passed away on March 13, 2021in Rockville, Maryland of complications due to Alzheimer’s disease. She was 87.
Burgess was born on February 3, 1934 in Magnolia, SC, one of three daughters of the late Bratton and Evelyn Williams. She graduated from Clemson High School in 1952 and spent one year at Furman University before marrying the late Rodolfo A. David in 1953. Together they moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala where her three sons were born. In Guatemala she helped run their business, Fabrica Carolina, a hosiery factory for almost 14 years.
In 1966 her husband, Rodolfo, died prematurely. After a few years, Burgess met and married Ronald F. Venezia a Career Senior Foreign Service Officer with the Agency for International Development (USAID). Together with her three children, they moved to San Jose, Costa Rica. During her 52 years of marriage to Ron, with USAID, they moved to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and again to Guatemala and Costa Rica before settling in Maryland.
Burgess enjoyed playing tennis, was an avid bridge player, enjoyed cooking and baking, and loved being the diplomat’s wife. Burgess is survived by her husband Ronald Venezia of Rockville, MD, her three sons, Michael David of Ellicott City, MD, Omar David of Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Bryan David of Tampa, Florida, her sister Vera Tucker of Columbia, South Carolina, five grandchildren, and three nieces and seven nephews.
Memorial Services will be held at the Old Stone Church in Clemson, South Carolina. Her ashes will be buried next to her parents, Bratton and Evelyn, at the Old Stone Church, where a plaque will be placed in her memory.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association – https://www.alz.org.
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