Mary Reeves Burke, 87, passed into her eternal rest on April 20, 2010. A longtime resident of Beaumont, Texas, she was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on September 8, 1922.
In 1944 Mrs. Burke married John F. Burke, who also grew up in Newburyport. They lived in Washington DC and Roselle, New Jersey until their 1971 move to Beaumont. She was a communicant of St. Anne Catholic Church in Beaumont. She belonged to the St. Anne Ladies Club, 49+ Senior Group and the Resurrection Choir. She was a St. Elizabeth Hospital Volunteer for over twenty-five years. She was an avid tennis player, a lifelong bridge player and a wonderful housewife and loving companion to Johnnie for fifty-five years. She and Johnnie celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a large group of family and friends in June 1994.
Mrs. Burke is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Hector Reeves and Abigail Frances Crowley; her husband, John F. Burke, Sr., a retiree of Arco Polymers in Port Arthur, Texas, who died in 1999; and their daughter, Anne Marie Burke, who died in 1962.
She is survived by four children, Catherine F. Beck and her husband Richard of Freehold, New Jersey, John F. Burke, Jr. and his wife Michelle of Bossier City, Louisiana, Thomas J. Burke and his wife Susan of Beaumont, Texas, and Richard P. Burke and his wife Denise, of Blaine, Minnesota.
Mrs. Burke is also survived by her ten grandchildren, Brian A. Beck, Charles D. Beck, Daniel P. Burke and his wife Laura, Andrew M. Burke, Christine M. Burke, Emily A. Burke, Michael P. Burke, Melissa A. Burke, Christopher J. Burke and Anne Marie Burke; and five great grandchildren, Skylar Burke, Jacob Burke, Logan Burke, Daniel Burke and Dylan Burke.
The family would like to include our deep appreciation to the following people who took exceptional care of our Mom: Dr. Daniel J. Harmon, and Dr. Bodo Brauer, and their staffs; caregivers, Janis McEntire and Jonnie Naizer; and the staffs of Jefferson Nursing and Calder Woods for all their love and attention.
A gathering of her family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 22, 2010, with a Christian Vigil at 6:30 p.m. under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24, 2010, at St. Rose of Lima Church, 16 McLean Street, Freehold, New Jersey. Interment will follow at St. Gertrude’s Cemetery in Colonia, New Jersey under the direction of Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold, New Jersey.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to American Heart Association, P.O. Box 7015, Beaumont, Texas 77726; Alzheimer’s Association, 700 North Street, Suite M, Beaumont, Texas 77701; or to St. Anne Catholic Church, P.O. Box 3429, Beaumont, Texas 77704.
