Henry Rudy A. Burke

Burke, Henry Rudy A.
87 of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away on April 12th, 2011. Henry was born in Los Angeles, California on July 29th, 1923. During the depression, the family moved to Mexico, like so many other families, to survive. He received most of his education in Mexico and attended Wade Carpenter Junior High. He read a lot. He was studious, but because times were hard, he did not finish his last school year in Mexico because he needed to work. He was half a year shy of graduating from high school. He, and one of his brother's, moved to San Ysidro, California, where they picked celery and enjoyed life on both sides of the border. He had great courage because when the United States went to war (WWI), he registered for the Army Air Corp, even though he didn't speak English. He was learning some French & some German. During the Battle of the Bulge, he was on an Army Air Base that they had to protect. They were told to do the best they could to protect the base but to understand that none of them were going to survive if the other troops could not protect them. Thankfully, the enemy did not get close & everyone on the base survived. When he returned to the United States, he enrolled at Phoenix Community College in Arizona, where he learned English, American History & other subjects with his G.I. bill money. He was determined & persistent because when he ran out of money, he quit school, went to work, then returned to school to continue his education. He went through that experience a few times. He enrolled at Arizona State University, where he majored in Education. He worked at Maricopa High School for ten years, then Nogales Junior High for twenty years. During those years, he studied at Cochise Community College, Pima Community College, returning to A.S.U. for his Masters Degree in Education. While in Nogales, he taught Junior High students in the day. He Tutored students before school & after school, also teaching English as a Second Language to adult students three times a week, (at night). Educating people was very important to him so that they could achieve as much as possible in their future. He was honest, noble, humble, civic minded, a humanitarian, shy, yet very social, having a wicked sense of humor. He kept in touch with all of his family members and friends. He sang and joked around every day of his life. He lived by his code - integrity, humanity, education, and religion. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. Henry was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Louise; brothers, Federico Tomas A. Burke and Francisco Burke; and his sister, Linda Juarez. He is survived by his daughter, Henrietta F. (Jose Antonio) Gracia; brother, Ernesto A. (Alma) Burke; sister, Sylvia B. (Tony) Grijalva; brothers-in-law, Frank R. (Sue) Flores and Adolpho Juarez; sisters-in-law, Josephine (George) Hiralez, Sarah Burke, and Nancy Flores; cousins, Isabel Garcia, Juanita Nunez, and Ray Salazar; and many friends. The Visitation was held on Saturday, April 16th, 2011. The Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM, Tuesday, April 19th, 2011, at SS Simon & Jude Cathedral, 6321 North 27th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. The Burial will take place at 12:30 PM, following the Funeral Mass, at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, Arizona. Arrangements entrusted to Lowmans Arizona Funeral Home, Inc.
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