Kenneth Michael Burke, 81
Don't cry because it's over — smile because it happened.
Kenneth Michael Burke, 81, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 1943, to Thomas and Mary Burke (nee Master).
After a very storied 81 years of life on this planet-Kenneth succumbed to his lengthy battle with cancer and died on June 9, 2024.
Kenneth started a lifetime of travel very unwittingly, at the age of 3, when he and his mother traveled to Japan on a US military ship. His father, an Army officer, was part of the occupation of Japan after their surrender in 1945. Kenneth and his mother were among the very first civilians allowed in Japan following the end of World War II. The family stayed there on the Island of Japan in Kyoto, where his sister, Karen was eventually born. The Burke family returned to the U.S., six weeks after her arrival.
All told, Kenneth gave 42 years of his life to public service in Washington, D.C. He served in the Naval Materiel Command Support for six years. Worked for the Peace Corps on the administrative side for five years and then began a 31-year career with the National Labor Relations Board in 1974. He was the chief architect of the board's computer network and then finished his final three years there as the chief of the board’s Judicial Case Management System.
In the early years at NLRB, Kenneth studied Law at night and passed the bar exam, adding Lawyer to his title. Kenneth truly loved his time at the NLRB, because he could see that he was helping people. Be it the underdog or the big corporation, he loved the equity and fairness of their actions.
Kenneth retired from the National Labor Relations Board in 2005 and at the insistence of his sister, moved to Whitefish in early 2006. From his new home on Geddes Avenue, plans could be made to keep on exploring the world and all it has to offer. During his illness, travel continued for Kenneth, albeit by wheelchair. He often joked, that he now judged airports by their wheelchair service. With lots of help from Karen, his final excursion was a much-anticipated trip with his sister across Canada on the Via Rail, Toronto to Vancouver, capping a lifelong fascination with trains.
When his battle with cancer began, Kenneth entered into a friendly contest with a medical professional at Logan Health. They both decided to make a list of the different airlines they had flown on in their lives and see who had the bigger list. Kenneth won handily, having ridden on nearly 50 different airlines and the cake topper was a trip on the Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet. In typical fashion, Kenneth recalled all the particulars of that flight, including the price of the ticket.
It would be hard to describe Kenneth’s knowledge of all things historical and geographical in the world. He loved to explore, sample foods, and along the way take in whatever history had happened there and fully document that in his mind. Ask him about his favorite hotel and meal in Germany or any other country in Europe, and you would receive in great detail a fabulous report including wonderful directions to the hotel and most of the items on the menu. Pick a country or a place in the world and ask that question then sit back and marvel at the report he would have for you. Kenneth could remember and describe people from those hotels, cafes, cruise ships, or passenger trains and most of the time he could recall their names. He was a gentleman who accepted and truly appreciated people from all walks of life.
His mind remained strong and sharp till the very end.
He is survived by his sister, Karen V. Burke of Whitefish and his dear friend, Marina.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Don Feldman.
