Timothy J. Burke

1938 - 2024

Timothy J. Burke
10/06/1938 - 11/04/2024
Timothy ("Tim") Joseph Burke was born October 6, 1938 in Green Bay, Wisconsin and passed away peacefully in Concord, California on November 4, 2024. He was the fourth of five children born to Patrick Raymond Burke and Magdalen (Denessen) Burke: Maureen Burke Clarke (deceased), Robert R. (deceased), John P., Timothy J., and James P. Burke.
Tim was a 1956 graduate of Premontre High School in Green Bay. In 1960 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History with a teaching minor in English from St. Norbert College. He then briefly taught English at Bonduel High School in Bonduel, Wisconsin, followed by the completion of his Master of Arts in Journalism from University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1963.
As he neared the completion of his studies at St. Norbert, Tim was instrumental in organizing a campaign stop at the College by then-Senator John F. Kennedy. Tim had a substantive discussion with the Senator during that visit, one subject of which was the Senator's ideas around starting a new foreign relations group that would later be called the Peace Corps. Upon completion of his studies at the University of Wisconsin, Tim joined the Peace Corps and, from 1964 to 1966, was assigned to teach English as a Second Language at a secondary school in the small village of Ibulu-Ihejiofor in southeast Nigeria. In 1967 he joined the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service and was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. He served as the direct assistant to Ambassador Robert McBride. In 1969, both the Ambassador and Tim were reassigned to Mexico City, Mexico. In 1972 Tim returned to Washington D.C. for an assignment as Chief of Dominican Republic Affairs. Prior to working in Nigeria, Tim had to learn the local Ibo language; to work in Congo he learned French, then two years later Spanish to work in Mexico. Tim was discharged from the Foreign Service in 1973 and moved to San Francisco, where he felt the political climate would be kinder to him. After a short time at Ralph M. Parsons Company, Tim joined the Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco, where he advanced steadily. He retired as a Project Administrator in 2003.
During his relatively short time in Washington D.C., Tim met Clifford ("Cliff") B. Stevenson (deceased), his partner for the next 43 years. For nearly 40 of those years, both Tim and Cliff were very active parishioners at St. Emydius Church in San Francisco. Tim served on numerous parish committees, eventually becoming Chairman of the Parish Coordinating Council, while Cliff served in the choir and on the coordinating and decorating committees.
Throughout their time in San Francico, Tim and Cliff regularly hosted friends and family for holidays, graduations, birthdays, and many other festive occasions. The congenial mingling of the cross-section of family and guests, both local and visiting, brought joy to so many. Those times will be fondly remembered by all who had the good fortune to be present.
Tim will be warmly remembered for his abundant fine qualities. Many of these qualities perhaps are best summarized in a two-paragraph excerpt from an expansive four-page Letter of Recommendation written by the Honorable Robert H. McBride in May of 1973 upon Tim's departure from the Foreign Service:
"Through our professional and personal relationship over a period of five years in two different embassies in widely contrasting countries and conditions, I have come to know Mr. Burke very thoroughly. He is a man of outstanding personal integrity with a strong belief in service to his country and his fellow man. He is understanding and compassionate, and sensitive to feelings of others. His personality is warm and he makes friends with people of varying cultures easily and quickly. His sense of humor is infectious and he has the ability to not take himself too seriously. He is unquestionably loyal to his superiors and to his friends and exhibits strong moral courage in defending them, as well as his own points of view."
"In sum, I consider Mr. Burke to be an outstanding young man endowed with great natural ability and with the highest moral character. His discretion, tact, and judgment, his diligence and intelligence, and his attractive personality lead me to be confident of his success in whatever field of endeavor he now decides to enter."
In addition to his brothers John and James, Tim is survived by numerous nephews and nieces.
Friends and family are invited to attend his Memorial Service on Saturday, December 7, at 11:00 am at St. Emydius Church, 286 Ashton Ave., San Francisco. The mass will be followed by a Celebration of Life for Tim from 12:00 to 3:30 pm in the Lakeview Terrace Room on the second floor of Tatum Clubhouse, located on Harding Golf Course adjacent to Lake Merced, 99 Harding Road, San Francisco.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Timothy's name to St. Emydius Church.