05/09/2016: "The Passing of Richard Burke Jr. 981st 70-71"

Ken Claflin 981st 70-71 wrote about this earlier. I am posting the obiturary I got from the funeral home.

Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home
Richard Vincent Burke Jr.Richard Vincent Burke Jr. 981st 70-71
(May 25, 1950 - January 14, 2015)

U.S. Veteran Nottingham - Richard "Dick" Vincent Burke, Jr. died unexpectedly at the Charles W. Gerstenberg Care Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 14, 2015, at the age of 64.
Richard is survived by his wife, Jean (Cantone) Burke; son, Jameson Richard Burke; brothers, Edmond Burke and his wife Janice who live in Alfred, Maine; Larry Burke of Cape Coral, Florida; Paul Burke of Reading, Massachusetts; a sister, Christine (Burke) Reed of Amesbury, Massachusetts, and 8 nieces and 10 nephews.

Richard was born on May, 25, 1950, in Stoneham, Massachusetts, to Richard and Natalie (Hunt) Burke. He graduated from Reading High School, Reading, Massachusetts in 1968 and attended Northern Essex Community College. In 1969, he enlisted in the Army and served in Vietnam in the 981st Military Police Group as a Sentry Dog Handler. After his return from Vietnam he attended Coyne Electrical School in Boston. Richard married Jean (Cantone) Burke on August 16, 1975.

In 1974, he began working for his father's commercial door company, The Parker Company, located in Andover, Massachusetts, and took over the company after his father's death in 2000.

Richard was "a man of the sea." He was an avid scuba diver, and boating enthusiast who captained his 24 ft. Thompson motor boat "the Incognito." He loved sailing with his friends and was a dedicated loving father to his son who supported Jean's passion for taking underwater photographs when traveling to exotic tropical islands with his family.

A wake is scheduled for Thursday, January 22 from 5 - 7 p.m. at Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home, 77 Exeter Street, Newmarket, NH, with a funeral service on Saturday, January 24, 2014, at 11 a.m. at the funeral home as well.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dick's memory on line to www.hpbcf.org Hospice of Palm Beach County, Mailing address: 5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, Fl 33407-9926 or by telephone at (561)-494-6887.

Donations also can be made to the Vietnam Veterans of America via their Web Site: VVA.org/support

Condolences can be sent to The Burke Family, 18 Robin Hood Drive, Nottingham, NH 03290. The family would like to thank The ICU Nurses at Wellington Regional Medical Center, Wellington, FL and the wonderful caring staff at The Hospice of Palm Beach County for their loving support and dedication to the patients under their care.

Visit www.kentandpelczarfh.com to sign an online guest book.