Burgess Bauder finally died ... he loved pink.
But before he died… he survived.
Burgess survived growing up in Tacoma, Washington, as an only child, born December 27, 1944. His childhood was filled with fishing, caring for his pets, and working toward the coveted title of “class clown.” Animals were part of Burgess’s life from the very beginning. His beloved cat, Susie Bell, had many, many litters because his family could not afford to have her spayed. That experience became the foundation of one of Burgess’s lifelong beliefs: everyone should be able to afford veterinary care.
Burgess survived undergrad, veterinary school, and playing college football at Washington State University. He loved telling stories about how players weren’t allowed to drink water during practice because it was supposed to make them tougher. But what really made Burgess tough was playing football while simultaneously attending the first two years of veterinary school. It was during this time that he met his BFF—his forever best friend, hunting partner, and fishing buddy—Bill McCain.
After veterinary school, Burgess almost survived earning a PhD at Texas A&M. Unfortunately, these were not “his people.” After wearing T-shirts when instructed to dress up, growing a moustache when told to be clean-shaven, and publicly questioning his professor’s knowledge, Burgess was invited to leave with a master’s degree in veterinary pathology.
In 1972, he found his people when he responded to an advertisement for Sitka’s first veterinarian.
Burgess’s life was dedicated to surviving as a shelter veterinarian. He treated every client and every animal equally, whether they could afford to pay or not. As a result, he could never really make a living as a veterinarian. In many ways, he was a volunteer providing an essential community service. His patients, however, were not always as appreciative as their owners.
He survived being attacked by a 13-foot alligator—and then survived having an emergency-room intern sew the alligator’s teeth inside his arm. While still in veterinary school, Burgess spent a summer working at a Montana dude ranch, where he lassoed a bear to a tree. Burgess and the bear survived; the lariat did not. Burgess had to cut it to free the bear. Later, he became the first veterinarian at the Alaska Raptor Center, caring for injured raptors from around Sitka.
To support his nonprofit veterinary “business,” Burgess had to survive a series of other professions. He became a commercial diver, harvesting abalone, geoducks, and sea cucumbers. Perhaps his greatest survival story came while diving for geoducks, when he nearly drowned. Fortunately, Larry and Chad Trani managed the incredible feat of pulling him from the water and reviving him with CPR before he was whisked away by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. Later, when a reporter asked Burgess if he had seen “the light,” he answered that he had only seen flames and lawyers.
Five days later, while celebrating the fact that he had survived near death, Burgess had a life-threatening ski crash on top of Harbor Mountain. He should have been emergently evacuated again, but refused, declaring, “I’m not getting medevacked twice in one week!” Burgess called these episodes Near-Death One and Near-Death Two. Around Sitka, however, people preferred to compare them to the nine lives of a cat. And, much like a cat, Burgess always landed on his feet.
Except on August 27, 2026, when he didn’t.
Carpentry became another source of income—and another arena in which Burgess managed to survive. He built a home for his family, as well as the famous Rockwell Lighthouse, now known as the Sitka Lighthouse. He also built a beautiful veterinary clinic and home for his wife, Victoria.
While building the clinic, Burgess survived a 13-foot fall that resulted in a severe head injury. True to his stubborn nature, he refused to get into the rescue basket so the team could lower him to the ambulance. He resisted for so long that the emergency-room doctor eventually came to the construction site, climbed the ladder to where Burgess was lying, and firmly instructed him to let the EMTs take him to the hospital.
Of course, Burgess survived.
Although Burgess spent most of his life working, he managed to survive having some fun along the way. Before his day could begin, he often squeezed in a run or hike accompanied by a pack of dogs, a cockatoo perched on his shoulder, or an emu in tow. One memorable day on the Cross Trail, Burgess survived being charged by a bear. Unfortunately, his dog did not.
Animals were not his only passion. Burgess also loved boats. He managed to survive countless mechanical failures at sea by MacGyvering his way out of trouble, usually with whatever happened to be within reach. In his final years, he and Victoria spent their time “yachting” around Southeast Alaska, creating some of their best memories together. His boat had been christened the “Death Barge” by his close friend David “Guido” Vastola as a joke. Burgess loved the name, and it stuck through DB 4.5.
Burgess did not merely survive being a father; he embraced it. He was an active, hands-on parent to Brock and Beau at a time when many fathers were much more likely to be hands-off. When the boys were young, he volunteered at their school, cooked them pita pocket meals, and scheduled his surgeries for after they went to bed. As they grew, he taught them carpentry, hunting, and fishing. He was endlessly proud of the men his sons became, and he never missed an opportunity to say so.
Through most of Burgess’s many survivals, there was one person who was always by his side—his wife, Victoria. She was there through the near-drowning, ski accidents, animal bites, broken bones, multiple medevacs, countless trips to the emergency room, and many other adventures. Most importantly, she was there during the final seven years of his life, when Burgess needed a little extra care—and the occasional reminder that perhaps he shouldn’t take on quite so much. Burgess affectionately referred to her as “The Lovely Victoria,” a phrase that opened every note on the bouquets of flowers he gave her throughout their relationship. While both independent individuals, often setting off on their own adventures, they cherished the opportunities to simply enjoy each other’s company. Whether sharing an evening by the fire with pets on their laps, performing a surgery together, or spending weeks on the water surrounded by the beauty of Southeast Alaska, there was always a deep and abiding love between them.
Burgess once stated that he wanted to “Fly into life’s mountain with my afterburner on, but not until this fighter aircraft of a body becomes obsolete.”
He came remarkably close to achieving that goal.
Burgess died peacefully at home, surrounded by the people—and pets—he loved. After a lifetime of surviving everything from alligators and bears to near-drownings, plane rides, ski crashes, construction accidents, veterinary patients, boats, and probably his own stubbornness, his fighter aircraft finally became obsolete.
He lived loudly. He worked relentlessly. He loved animals fiercely. He was stubborn, unconventional, generous, curious, mischievous, and completely, unmistakably Burgess.
And he lived life to the fullest.
Burgess is survived by his wife, Victoria Vosburg; his children, Brock Bauder and Beau (Marni) Bauder; his six grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and cats Ardea and Isabella.
He was preceded in death by his grandson Dakota Bauder, BFF Bill McCain, and the many pets he loved and cared for.
A celebration of his life will be held at Halibut Point Recreation Area from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 4. Please bring a dish to share, your drinks, and wear pink in his honor, his family said. There will be a bonfire, a band, and an opportunity to record stories.
Please leave all pets at home.
Friends of Sitka Animal Shelter will be renaming the Compassionate Care Fund, which helps low income owners pay for veterinary services, to the Burgess Bauder Memorial Fund. Please consider donating to this fund in honor of Burgess and the years of care he provided for all the animals of Southeast Alaska at www.sitkaanimalfriends.org/burgess.
