JOSEPHINE BURKE

BURKE, JOSEPHINE. Jo Burke, wonderful mother and grandmother, devoted wife, proud Rotarian, and active, independent octogenarian, left this world on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, with her family at her side. Her peaceful passing was a final act of grace and generosity, for which her family will always be grateful. Jo was born on October 11, 1926 in San Francisco, California, first daughter and second child of William Hendrickson and his wife Amanda. She spent a happy, fortunate childhood both in the City by the Bay and in the gracious country home of her great grandparents in Marin County, where she and her brother Bill and sister Jane enjoyed riding ponies, swimming, and playing tennis. Jo graduated from Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco and then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she completed four semesters of study in a year and a half. She also was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Her life changed forever when early one morning in the summer of 1945 her father took her to nearby Hamilton Air Force Base to meet a special friend, Bill Burke, a major in the US Army Air Corps. Jo's father had become very close to Bill while they were prisoners in a German prison camp at the end of World War II. Bill had managed to be stationed near San Francisco on his return to the States, in hopes of spending more time with Bill Hendrickson and his family. When Jo and Bill saw each other that morning, it was love at first sight, and they were married on March 2, 1946 in Ross, California. Jo and Bill's honeymoon was a cross country trip by automobile to Bill's posting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. It was the first time that Jo had been outside the state of California. The next twenty years were spent traveling and living in various parts of the world and the United States as Bill pursued his career in the Air Force: France, Italy, Ohio, Arkansas, Virginia and Hawaii. Along the way two children were born: Jackie in 1947 and William in 1949. Jo spent those years working hard to make sure the family, especially her children, felt at home in the new cities and bases to which they were stationed every few years. It was a hard job and she did it well, always active and involved in each new community. In the mid 1960s, Jo and Bill moved to Florida, where Bill began his second career in the Florida land development business. The next forty years were a wonderful period for Jo and Bill-they thrived on the active, outdoor lifestyle that Florida provided and made many new friends. For a long while, their social and recreational life centered around the Royal Palm Tennis Club, where Jo was a valuable member of the inter-club women's doubles team. She was a fierce competitor who also had a pure love of the game. Jo also enjoyed the many evenings spent on the patio of her home, having cocktails and dinner with Bill, and often with neighbors and friends. The tropical lifestyle suited her well. The center of Jo's life for the last few years has been the Rotary Club of Coral Gables. The club filled her life with both social and community service activities, and also was the source of many wonderful friendships. Her family will always be grateful to Rotary for the companionship and enriching experiences that it gave her. Jo was predeceased by her mother and father and by her husband Bill in 2003. She is survived by a daughter, Jackie Burke, her husban d Ed Carroll of Grand Isle, Vermont, and their sons Todd, Sam, and Matthew Carroll; a son, William Burke, his wife Deborah, and a granddaughter, Kelsey, all of Foster City, California; a brother, William Hendrickson of San Anselmo, California; a sister, Jane Reynolds, of Tibouron, California; and many nieces and nephews. They will all miss her dearly. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Baptist Hospital of Miami, whose professionalism and caring was remarkable. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Louis Catholic Church, 7270 SW 120 Street, Pinecrest at 1:00 pm on Friday, April 30. Visitation will be from 6:30-8:30 pm on Thursday, April 29, with a wake service at 8:00 pm, at Stanfill Funeral Home. Burial will be on June 17 in Arlington National Cemetery. Contributions in Jo's name can be made to the Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables, Inc., PO Box 14-1446, Coral Gables, FL 33114-1446. LOGO1 View this Guest Book at www. MiamiHerald.com/obituaries.