William H. Burke M.D.

Burke, M.D., William H.
William H. Burke, M.D., Trumbull resident passed away on July 19, 2013. He had a practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Bridgeport area for 43 years. He was the beloved husband of Ernestine Feeney Burke. Born in Waterbury, Connecticut on June 30th, 1919, he was the son of the late Harris M. Burke and Agnes McCarthy Burke. In 1928, his parents moved to Naugatuck, Connecticut. He graduated from Naugatuck High School in 1937, attended Dartmouth 1938 and 1939 and subsequently received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1942. He graduated with a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1945 and completed an internship at Memorial - Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York. He entered the Armed Forces and served as a Captain of the 7707th European Command of Intelligence Center in the Army of the United States and was stationed in Germany from 1946-1948. Upon returning from service he had a Fellowship in Anatomy at Cornell University Medical College and subsequently entered in the Residency Program of New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center June 1949-1954. Opening a private practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Bridgeport, he became a Senior Attending Physician at both St. Vincent's Hospital and Bridgeport Hospital during his career. He was a member of the Fairfield County Medical Society and the Connecticut Medical Society. He was a Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and in 1961 was included as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He was also a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In the years of his obstetrical practice he still maintained an interest in his studies of anatomy and in 1957 the late Dr. R. Douglas Gordon, in the preface of his book, Operative Obstetrics, wrote that "he was grateful to Dr. William H. Burke for the preparation of much of the manuscript in the chapters on Anatomy and the Repair of Obstetrical Trauma". Dr. Burke also gave annual lectures to the resident staff of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Bridgeport Hospital on the anatomy of the abdomen and pelvis. Dr. Burke enjoyed his patients and practice and felt a close relationship to his patients. In his leisure times he enjoyed gardening, swimming and reading classical literature. He was also an avid follower of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Besides his wife, he is survived by seven children: William H. Burke, Jr. of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, Anthony J. Burke and his wife, Sandra, of Reno, Nevada, Dr. Robert E. Burke and his wife, Dr. Sharon Wardlaw, of Tenafly, New Jersey, Dr. Michael Burke of Yonkers, New York, Carole Jones of DeSoto, Kansas, Kathleen and Thomas Cherniavsky of Pound Ridge, New York and Dr. Beatrice Burke and husband, David Greene, of Burlingame, California. He is also survived by twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 10:30 A.M. at the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Rd., Trumbull and at 11:00 A.M. at St. Theresa Church, Trumbull for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Trumbull. Friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday morning from 9:30 A.M. until the time of service. To light a virtual candle, please visit www.abriola.com.