The man who owned and operated Gold's Department Store in downtown Cornelia for decades has passed away at the age of 90.
Nathan Louis Burgen began managing Gold's in 1946 right after he returned home from military service in the Philippines, where he was serving with the U.S. Army's 77th Air Service group.
An obituary said Burgen found his calling as a merchant and continued as a retail businessman for 70 years. He and his brother Jake Burgen, and their partner Allen Doveton, operated a chain of department stores in Georgia and South Carolina. Among those stores were Burton's and Milner's in Gainesville.
Burgen purchased and lived in the historic Commercial Hotel in downtown Cornelia, but later sold the property to Regions Bank. He also was very involved with Piedmont College in Demorest, serving as a Trustee for the college since 1969; he was named a Trustee Emeritus in 2015.
Burgen died Wednesday December 7, 2016 at his home on Skyland Drive in Cornelia. He will be buried in Charlotte, NC at the Hebrew Cemetery in the Burgen-Ackerman Plot.
For a complete obituary, follow this link to the Hankins & Whittington Funeral Service website.
