Betty Burke

1927 - 2020

Betty Hourigan Burke
1927 - 2020Family Matriarch, passed March 7th in Stamford, CT. Betty was predeceased by her husband, John, in 1993. Betty was the daughter of the Honorable Andrew Hourigan and Marie Quinn Hourigan. She grew up in Wilkes Barre, PA with 5 brothers and sisters. Her paternal grandparents were Bridget Degnan Hourigan, born to the potato famine and Patrick, a survivor of Andersonville Prison. On her maternal side, James and Rosina Geis Quinn and mother, Marie, survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889.
Betty attended Wyoming Seminary (1944) and Manhattanville College (1948). She was introduced to John by her sister and brother-in-law, Cougie and Charlie Powers in her senior year at Manhattanville, and they married in 1949. The couple moved from NYC to Greenwich, CT in 1954. She is survived by her 5 children, who, like their mom, enjoy gardening, cooking, art and music: John (Paola), Christopher (Vicki Sanders), Brian (Gayle), Andrew (Gina), and Elizabeth Tasker (Curt Waltrip). She is survived by eleven grandchildren: Elizabeth (Steven Calley), Sarah, Loren, Patrick, John, Aran, Katie, Bridget, and Maggie Burke, Liza Bates (Stephen), and Jack Tasker. She is also survived by three great-grandchildren, William and Ruairí Calley, and Charles Bates, and by nineteen beloved nieces and nephews. Betty was predeceased this year by her friend and longtime companion, Paul Muller.
Betty was a longtime resident and community leader of Riverside, CT. A cub scout and brownie leader, Fresh Air Fund host and chairwoman, St. Catherine's Flower Guild volunteer for 15 years, 65-year member of the Junior League of Greenwich, volunteer for Meals of Wheels and area soup kitchens. She was a board member of the Greenwich Symphony, Hill House, River House, Greenwich Commission on Aging (chair 1999), and the Greenwich Library (1968-2016, Friends board president 1972-1974, trustee 1974-1980, library president 1976-1978). Betty also served and chaired the executive committee at the Hurlbutt/Flinn Gallery. She was a member of several book clubs, bible study groups and garden clubs as well as the Women's Forum. Last but not least, Betty had a good sense of humor. Founding member, Meadowlarks, Meadow Rd., Riverside. Among other things, charter required sitting in an imaginary rowboat, New Year's Eve, pulling an oar in time while singing Lloyd George Knew My Father. The key was never important. Member of the Riverside Yacht Club.
Donations in memory of Betty can be made to the River House Adult Day Care, 125 River Rd. Extension, Cos Cob, CT 06807 or Flinn Gallery/Friend of Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. A family service was held March 12 at St. Mary's Cemetery. A memorial will be held at a later date, to be published.