2
trees
planted in memory of Stephen Francis Nicholas Burke, Jr.
Obituary for Stephen Francis Nicholas Burke, Jr.
Stephen Francis Nicholas Burke, Jr., passed away on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 after suffering from a long illness. He was 70 years old. His wish was for his remains to be cremated and his ashes be sprinkled at Mount Palomar, California.
Steve leaves behind his half-brother Keith, his half-sister Karen, his sister Janice, his estranged daughter Samantha, 13 nieces and nephews, 22 grands and several great-grands. Additionally, he will be missed by his cousins as well as his cherished friends.
Above are the facts.....just the facts. But Steve was so much more than just these facts. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen in his memoir regarding the death of Clarence Clemons, Steve was a complex man.
Steve was born on September 8, 1953 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Stephen Francis Nicholas and Alice Burke (aka, Little Steve and Big Al). His sister Janice arrived four years later. Dad's work as an accountant moved the family around the United States frequently, so the family bought and lived in a mobile home for four years, so even if outside the trailer things looked differently, at least the inside would be familiar to the children. Steve attended ten different schools, in seven different states, including New York, Nebraska, Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia and finally Wyoming. He graduated in 1971 from Glenrock High School. Although Steve was #3 in his graduating class, he joked he was not in the top 10%....as his graduating class only totaled 29 students.
After high school graduation and during the next four summers, Steve worked as a welder in the Union for Combustion Engineering to get enough tuition money together to attend college. In his freshman year he attended Northeastern University and lived with his paternal grandmother in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. For his remaining college years, he attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he lived with his maternal aunt in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He graduated after four years with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting in 1975..............or did he? Actually, he did not officially graduate as he was a mere one credit (or perhaps one class) short!
Steve was a true Virgo and was known for his attention to detail. After college graduation (well, almost graduation) he began working as a Field Accountant for Combustion Engineering, Windsor, Connecticut. He had special expertise in bidding work for building or modifying fossil fuel fired electrical power plants. Being a gypsy at heart, his incredible work ethic and job expertise allowed him to switch companies frequently. His job titles included Cost Development Analyst, Proposal Engineer, Project Cost Estimator, Lead Estimator, Project Controls Engineer, Senior Cost Integration Engineer (Estimator), Senior Estimator, and Commercial Tendering Manager. In his temporary work assignments and companies, in addition to Connecticut he worked in the Bahamas, Yugoslavia, California, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. His last two places of employment were for Siemens Energy in Orlando and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas in Lake Mary. For both companies he prepared very high value estimates for building, repairing or modifying electrical power plants.
Steve was blessed with Windex-blue eyes, an infectious laugh, a fabulous sense of humor and a lightning-fast wit. He claimed that one of his favorite activities was going to job interviews. He stated that while traveling for an interview, at someone else's expense, he could check out a new area of the country, grab a bite at a novel restaurant, and then talk about himself for an hour to a captive audience! He asserted that only once did a potential hiring company actually learn that he did not technically hold a college degree.
He truly enjoyed a heated card game or discussion. He could run the categories on "Jeopardy." He loved almost all genres of music, with the single exception of country music which he stated was worse than listening to static. He was a car enthusiast who claimed that no one knew more about cars than he did. He was a gifted photographer, and a coin collector. He loved to goof with the waitstaff in a restaurant, but then would leave a hefty tip. He was loyal and generous to those whom he loved. He was an on-going donor to animal organizations as well as Military Organizations including the USO. In his younger days he resembled the actor Jeff Bridges, and later in life he morphed into resembling Rob Reiner. His favorite movies were “Ronin” and "Full Metal Jacket," and his favorite Christmas movie was "Die Hard." He was not a fan of taking naps, and he was incredibly allergic to hazelnut. Although he lived for almost 20 years on the outskirts of Orlando, he disliked Walt Disney World. And he could hold grudges.
He loved to travel, adored road trips, and visited all 50 states. In 1980 while working and living in Iowa, he flew to Seattle to help Janice drive to Massachusetts so she could begin her own college experience. He had carefully planned this week-long drive in her 1974 Subaru (named Donovan), so they visited the Grand Coulee Dam, Coeur D'Alene, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore. After a three-day stop in Iowa so Steve could work and make additional driving money, he drove Janice to Niagara Falls and then finally to her college. He enjoyed many other wondrous vacations and road trips, but his final road trip was in August 2017. He drove from his residence in Florida in his 2002 Monte Carlo (named Yellow Bird) across the southern part of the United States, stopping to visit an uncle in Arizona, then to San Francisco, California where he met his sister who was attending a work conference there. During the next week, Steve drove Janice to all of the places he had visited and loved in that region of California. At the end of the week, Janice caught a plane to Baltimore, Maryland, and Steve then drove through Canada and checked off many sites on his bucket list, and finally returned home. His final road trip took him 23 days. He often said his goal was to get a speeding ticket in all fifty states and he carefully tracked his progress on a spreadsheet.
Although Steve never smoked and rarely (almost never) drank any adult beverages, he spent more time in rehabilitation centers than a lot of alcoholics and drug addicts! His rehab stays were for mending after his many surgical procedures.
And, finally, Steve had to have the last word.
Later Gagazu
Celebration of Life Event:
Date: Saturday, 20 July 2024
Time: 6pm - 10pm
Restaurant: Maggiano's Little Italy
Location: 9101 International Drive, #2400, Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: 407-241-8650
To plant a tree in memory of Stephen Francis Nicholas Burke, Jr., visit the Tribute Store.
Previous Events
Celebration Of Life
Saturday
20
Jul
6:00 PM
- 10:00 PM
Maggiano's Little Italy
9101 International Drive, #2400
Orlando, FL 32819
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