Ann D. Burgess was born on Feb 20, 1946 in Chicago, IL, the youngest of five children of James E. and Annie Lois Nevils. Ann was exposed to the Bible at an early age, attending Sunday school and singing in the Baptist choir as a child. After graduating from the Chicago public school system, she went on to attend Roosevelt University, where she received a bachelor's degree in accounting. During her young adult years, she reunited with a childhood friend from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, with whom she began a regular Bible study shortly afterwards, and was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses on April 25, 1965. Although she had a long professional career with a law firm, a casualty insurance company, and the state of Indiana, her true passion was the Bible's hope for mankind's future, and helping to spread Bible truths through the "Kingdom Ministry". She took great pride in raising her children with Christian principles, and exposing them to the most wholesome environment possible, moving her family to Indianapolis and the Guion Creek Congregation in 1991. Ann was preceded in death by her parents, siblings Effie Henderson, James Jr., Otis and Bessie Nevils. She is survived by sons Jason and Erik Burgess; grandchildren Alexandria, Gabriel, Camille, Penelope and Simon Burgess; sister Lillian Clinton; along with nieces, a nephew and a host of spiritual brothers and sisters.