Caroline Burgeson

Obituary of Caroline BurgesonCaroline Lee Bergeson, owner of The Paddock Room Galleries in Ocala, Florida passed on peacefully at her home on Sunday evening February 24th, 2013. Among her many accomplishments Caroline spoke several languages, sang The Lord's Prayer for President FDR at her high school graduation (receiving a special comment from the President on her performance) and graduated with high honors from Hunter College in New York City. Caroline's mother was an accomplished opera singer giving Caroline a life long love of the opera. Caroline, herself, had a beautiful voice, and although she declined, she was invited to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC. Caroline was predeceased in 1991 by her beloved husband Edward Burgeson. When they met Ed was newly hired as the Vice President of Advertising and Director of Retail Division and Caroline was the Librarian in the Bureau of Advertising of the American Newspaper Publishers Association. Caroline had come to the firm from an illustrious retail background working at New York City's Sak's 5th Avenue and Burgdorf's. They were married on September 4, 1954 in the Cleveland Park Congregational Church in Washington D.C., making their home on Tudor City Place in New York City before moving to a two hundred and fifty year old colonial. The home, which resembled a small version of Mt. Vernon, was located on fifty four acres in nearby Flemington, New Jersey. With their parakeet, Pretty Boy and their Springer Spaniel and along with her career as a Latin teacher at Flemington High School and Ed's Vice Presidency, the couple became gentleman farmers, raising their own vegetables and selling hay to local land owners. The couple moved to Marion County at the end of the 1960s and after noting the lack of stores catering to decorative items opened a 500 square-foot store on Silver Springs Blvd. They quickly discovered that Ocala was serious about horses and tentatively stocked a small collection of horse related items. When all items sold within the first part of the first day, they had discovered their niche and fell in love with the equine industry. The wonderful landmark store was moved to its final location at 226 E Silver Springs Blvd in 1978 and quickly grew to nearly 4,500 square feet, stocking items specific to equine activities, including fox hunting, eventing, driving, polo and horse racing. Along with loyal farm owners and residents of Ocala and the surrounding area the business grew to include buyers from around the country and the world, some of whom would visit the store while in town to purchase horses at the Ocala Breeder's Sale auction or participate in the winter Hits (Horses in the Sun) competition. Since Ed's passing The Paddock Room Galleries had been Caroline's passion. She was dedicated to her clientele and proud of her loyalty to her customers. Caroline was both owner and operator of her unique store right up until the end of 2012 when she decided to close the store and semi-retire. Her store lives on via her website as her legacy to the horse community and equine industry that she loved so well. She will be dearly missed by many. To share your story of Caroline please add comments here in her Guestbook. To read more about Caroline please visit http://www.thepaddockroom.com/profile.html and the lower right hand area of www.paddockroom.com.To help her Facebook fans get to know her better please add your memories of Caroline on her store Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thepaddockroomgalleries.

Caroline Burgeson

December 31, 1969 - February 24, 2013