Dr. Sarah Kay Burgess, 66, died at home the afternoon of September 11, 2020 after a decade-long struggle with systemic scleroderma and its complications. She was cared for by her youngest child, Anders E.B. Nielsen; her husband of 41 years, William D. Nielsen; Mayo Clinic Home Hospice; and her devoted cat, Mac, a Snowshoe Siamese. She is also survived by her eldest child, Ellen C.B. Nielsen; her siblings, Deborah Grant Burgess, Abigail Burgess McMillan, and Joel Price Burgess; her nieces, Anastasia Eden Gambill, Sarah Elizabeth McMillan, and Jerusha Orion Burgess; her nephews, Jesse Saiph Burgess and Colin Alexander McMillan; and her French Spaniel, Josie. She is preceded in death by her parents, Price Bradford Burgess and Barbara Ann Cook Burgess; her brother, Jonathan Grant Burgess; and her other French Spaniel, Addie. She was both a cat and a dog person. Sarah was born on September 28, 1953 in Harvey, Illinois and spent her early childhood in Muncie, Indiana. She graduated from Albion High School in 1971 and attended DePauw University for two years before transferring to Purdue University, where she graduated in 1975 with a BS in Biology. She received her MD from Indiana University Medical School in 1982 and did her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Joseph Hospital in Milwaukee from 1982 to 1986. She moved to Eau Claire in 1986 to work as an OB/GYN at Sacred Heart Hospital and Midelfort Clinic. When Midelfort merged with Mayo Clinic in 1992, Sarah became an employee of Mayo Clinic Health System Eau Claire and worked there until her retirement in 2011. Sarah deeply loved her vocation. Over the course of her career, she delivered more than three thousand babies. Sarah was a kind, generous, and intelligent person. She loved walking in nature, gardening, bird watching, cooking, making / dressing up in costumes, and shopping the clearance rack. She managed to be both a loving, attentive parent and a celebrated, hardworking physician. Sarah believed that when we die, we live on in the memory and dreams of those who loved us. She will be sorely missed by her family, friends, and pets. Her family would like to thank Mayo Clinic Hospice, especially Nurse Angie Dahl. Memorial services will be postponed until after the pandemic. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorial donations to L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Scleroderma Research Foundation, or Eau Claire County Humane Association. May she be remembered with love.

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