John M. Burke, Sr.
Retired Watertown Letter Carrier
TEWKSBURY: John M. Burke, Sr., age 76, a resident of the Heatherwood Retirement Community in Tewksbury, formerly of Tyngsboro and Billerica, passed away in the care of his family and hospice on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at his daughter’s home in Hudson, NH.
He was the beloved husband of 47 years to Deidra M. (Sanchez) Burke, who passed away on April 30, 2017.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 22, 1944, he was the son of the late William J. Burke, II and the late Helen M. (Kubovchik) Burke.
John was a kind, compassionate, and faithful man who always put his family’s needs first. The love for his wife Deidra was profound. He was always proud to share with friends that he was a loving father of six children, and that he was blessed to have eleven beautiful grandchildren. John was an avid chess player and the co-founder of the Billerica Chess Club in the 1980s. He enjoyed gardening and doing odd jobs around the house. In his later years, he enjoyed playing chess and watercolor painting at his retirement home in Tewksbury.
In 1963, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served during the Vietnam Era until being honorably discharged from active duty on January 26, 1966. John was awarded the Expert Rifle Badge for his proficiency with the M-14 Rifle.
Prior to his retirement, he was employed as a letter carrier by the U.S. Postal Service in Watertown.
He is survived by his son, John M. Burke, Jr. and his wife Jennifer of Acton; his daughters, Karen A. (Burke) Mahon and her husband Christopher of Tyngsboro, Cheryl M. (Burke) Bartolone and her husband Thomas of Tewksbury, Christine J. Burke and Mikey Connell of Lowell, Kathleen F. (Burke) Uzdanovich and her husband Steven of Hudson, NH, and Anne M. (Burke) DeMarco and her husband Steven of Wilmington; his eleven grandchildren whom he loved and adored with all of his heart; also many beloved nieces, nephews; his siblings, Mary McManamon and her husband Dennis of Upper Sandusky, OH, James Burke and his wife Sharon of Bay Village, OH, Patrick Burke and his wife Diane of Painesville, OH, Rosemarie Kissell and her husband Charles of North Ridgeville, OH, and Kathleen Burke of Parma, OH; John was the brother of the late William J. Burke, III.
A private Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Williams Church, Tewksbury. Family and friends are invited to the committal service on Saturday, July 18, at 12:45 p.m. at St. Mary Cemetery, 90 River Road, Tewksbury. In adherence with State Covid-19 guidelines, masks/face coverings and social distancing required at all venues. Under the circumstances, there will be No Calling Hours. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his memory to Heartbeat, 3423 Columbus Avenue, Sandusky, OH 44870, http://www.heartbeatofsanduskyohio.com/; or to American Diabetes Association, 260 Cochituate Road, # 200, Framingham, MA 01701, https://www.diabetes.org/community/local-offices/new-england.