Thomas E. Burke

BURKE, Thomas E. Of Cohasset, Massachusetts passed away on December 30 at South Shore Hospital from complications of pneumonia. Rear Admiral Burke was 91 years of age and leaves behind his wife of 62 years Mary Rita Gilligan Burke. Tom led a remarkable and distinguished life. He was a decorated Merchant Marine officer of WWII, an avid sportsman, a leading producer for New England Financial for over 50 years and the father of seven children. Rear Admiral Thomas E. Burke was born in the coastal town of Hull, Massachusetts, where from an early age; he showed a natural propensity for life at sea. While a senior in high school he served a stint as a crew member on a Grand Banks fishing trawler. He entered the Massachusetts Nautical School (Massachusetts Maritime Academy) in 1937 and trained aboard the legendary school ship Nantucket. Upon graduating in 1939, Admiral Burke went to sea with the United Fruit Company serving in all positions from Able Seaman to Ship Master by 1944. Tom had a distinguished war record in WWII and was one of the youngest ship masters of that era. In the war, he served in many capacities in the South Pacific, Guadalcanal, and the Philippines. His wartime service included surviving two torpedo attacks, one in May 1942 in which he was credited with saving the lives of three other people, including an 11 year old girl after floating in the water for 20 hours in the Gulf of Mexico. In the second attack, a year later, while on the SS Cape Nedick, off the coast of South Africa, he was blown off the bridge to the deck below, survived unhurt and continued on with the badly damaged ship finally arriving in New York with 50 feet of the hull still open. In March of 1945, he was in command of the Black Warrior as it was escorted by Nazi minesweepers through the minefields of the Wesser River, being the first American ship to enter Germany since 1939. In 1947 Admiral Burke married his beloved Rita and in 1949, he left the sea, coming ashore to Cohasset where he and Rita raised seven children. He went on to a very successful career as a top producer with New England Financial from 1948 to 1998, as a financial service and sales professional, as part of the Baystate Financial Agency. In 1957, he was elected President of the New England Financial Leaders Association. He was a Lifetime Member of New England Financial Leaders and The Million Dollar Roundtable, and earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1965. At one time, he had achieved roughly 2000 consecutive weeks of new business production. He was a countywide leader in that category, and was most proud of that standard. He also had a successful property and casualty business through Brewer & Lord Co., starting in 1962. At the same time he began sixty-year tenure of service to his beloved alma mater, The Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he is perhaps best known as the voluntary Placement Director. For over twenty years he assisted hundreds of alumni with seagoing and shore side job placement. He has served as Alumni President, Bulletin Editor, Foundation Trustee, Board of Visitors Trustee, and he was named "Outstanding Alumnus" in 1965. In 1982, Admiral Burke was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by MMA at Commencement. He has also served the Boston Marine Society as Trustee since 1955 and as President from 1976 to 1979. In 2002, the U.S. Maritime Administration appointed Tom to his present rank, of Rear Admiral, for his many years of service to the industry. Tom and some of his sailing friends, looking for a way for young children in Cohasset to learn to sail, started the Cohasset Sailing Club in 1960 with a small fleet of donated sail boats and the use of a piece of harbor front property owned by the government. The Cohasset Sailing Club is thriving today with over 200 members and a reputation for turning out the best sailors in the area. Tom was a sportsman all his life. Growing up in Hull he began hunting waterfowl, an avocation he continued well into his eighties. Tom was an avid sailor competing in the Newport to Bermuda Race several times. Tom's greatest passion in life was his love for the game of golf. Tom learned the game of golf as a boy caddying at Cohasset Golf Club and went on to become a member of Hatherly Country Club for over 50 years. Tom's golfing accomplishments at Hatherly include Senior Club Champion several times and Father and Son Champion nine consecutive years with three different sons. Tom competed in amateur tournaments around the state and shot his age on several occasions Tom was also member of Port Royal Club in Bermuda and proud member of the New England Seniors Golf Association. Perhaps the thing that he liked to do the most was watch his seven children participate in their various sports and activities. Tom's children were accomplished in a variety of interests, including golf, tennis, baseball, football, hockey, field hockey, cheerleading, music and theater. One of Tom's greatest joys was spending time in Bermuda where he and his wife first honeymooned in 1947. With more than 80 repeat visits to Cambridge Beaches they had become the most often repeat visitors to that resort and for the last 15 years they were honored by the Prime Minister of Bermuda who joined them for dinner at each visit. Tom was the son of John and Agnes Greely Burke originally of Galway Ireland. Tom's father was the oldest of 14 children and Tom has nearly 100 first cousins many of who still resides in Ireland. In addition to his wife, Mary Rita, and his sister Alice Draine of Boston, Tom is survived by daughter Joanna of Malibu, CA; son Thomas W. and his wife Gail of Mobile, AL; son-in-law Dr. James Colville (surviving spouse of daughter Maryadele, d.); son Christopher and his wife Marguerite of Lake Bluff, IL; son John and his wife Anne of Houston, TX and 9 grandchildren. His beloved daughters Patricia, Maryadele and Andrea preceded Tom in death, as did his four brothers, John, William, Robert and David. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 10 am in St. Anthony's Church, Cohasset. Visiting hours Thursday, Jan. 7th from 5-8 pm and Friday, Jan. 8th from 5-8 pm at the McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer St. (across from St. Anthony's Church), Cohasset, MA. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the RADM Thomas E. Burke Sea Term Scholarship at Massachusetts Maritime Academy; payable to:" MMA AA Scholarship Fund" with the notation "RADM Thomas E. Burke Scholarship Fund" in the "memo" portion. 
Checks should be mailed to William Mc McClellan, MMA 63; 10 Horizon Circle, Chatham, MA; 02633 U.S. Merchant Mariner, Rear Admiral. WWII. McNamara-Sparrell Brighton-Cohasset-Norwell 781-383-0200