News Stories, Obituary

Beloved Burlington Educator Abigail (Abby) Abbott Remembered

 Beloved Burlington Educator Abigail (Abby) Abbott Remembered

A beloved Burlington High School educator who lost her battle with cancer was recognized at the School Committee meeting last week. 

They held a moment of silence in honor and memory of Abigail (Abby) Bates Abbott who passed away on February 1 at the age of 53. 

“Abby Abbot was a longtime Burlington teacher,” Committee Vice-Chair Tom Murphy said. “She was very involved with her students and extracurricular activities. Anybody who has been around the School Department in the last 20 years has crossed paths with Abby. She was a great person and a great teacher.”

“I want to thank Abby for all her efforts over her career and her contributions to the community and pass our condolences to her family and friends,” he added. 

According to her obituary, Abby was born on July 20, 1967 to Gardner and Christine Abbott and was raised in Connecticut as the oldest of four girls. 

“Abigail played an integral part in the lives of her sisters Tina, Mary and Betsy, always there to offer help, guidance and of course to just have fun,” her obituary reads. 

She attended Duke University, where she began her career in education and “a life defined by service to her community.” She taught Spanish at Burlington High School for over twenty years. During that time she was an advisor for the National Honor Society and led students groups on summer trips across four continents.

“She inspired hundreds of students and helped them learn how to give without return, to share themselves without making exceptions and to see the goodness in everyone,” her obituary says. “She loved to travel and spent much of her free time taking road trips with friends and visiting people she knew around the world.  

Abby had a passion for volunteering and was a Shelter Captain with “Christmas in the City” for Boston’s homeless children.  

“Abigail was a beloved member of her communities in Dorchester, Massachusetts and Madison, Connecticut, and attended St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Milton,” her obituary says. “She will be truly missed by her surviving family.”