A few years ago, 1992 precisely, Daniel Joseph Burke got this card for Father's Day: "Today is a good day for me to reflect on the fact that I started out in life with an important advantage over most kids . I had you for a Dad." How true that was for all his children: Kathleen, Richard, Eileen, Dan and Paul. Daniel Burke was a wonderful son, brother, husband, father, uncle and grandfather. He epitomized the best of his generation: Hard work, unselfish sacrifice for his family, loyalty to his friends, and devotion to his church. Dad was born in 1929 in Astoria, New York, on the cusp of the Great Depression, to an Irish-American family. He had a determined, no-nonsense mother, a loving but sickly father, and one sister, our beloved Aunt Mary. We loved to hear Dad's tales from the neighborhood and especially his stories about getting into trouble like when he climbed into the dumbwaiter in the apartment building and had a friend lower him to Grandma's apartment. She heard a knocking on the dumbwaiter door. When she opened the dumbwaiter door, he waved and said, "Hi, Mom!" She started to swat him, and he yelled to his friend: "Pull me up, Carl, pull me up!" His father died when Dad was only 16. But even before that, Dad worked while going to school. He wasn't a great student and was kicked out of two high schools, before he started working full time at the A&P. A kind neighbor who was an accountant took Dad under his wing and offered Dad a job at his firm on condition he finish high school and go to college. It was about this time that he met our mother, Lois Johnson, at a carnival in 1947. "To impress Mom, I told her I was planning to start college in September," he told us. "Actually, I was going to my third high school in New York City to get credits for my Regents diploma." But Mom obviously saw something in Dad. Eventually they became engaged and married, and with her encouragement (ahem, insistence), Dad finished college while working full time at General Electric, enduring a long commute with three small kids at home. Together, Mom and Dad forged a wonderful life for their kids, first in Pearl River, N.Y, then Schenectady, N.Y. (where Dan and Paul were added to the family), and finally in Cincinnati, which they loved from the first and never wanted to leave. They found lifelong friends in Montgomery's "Winds" neighborhood, through All Saints, and at GE, where Dad retired as manager of Information Systems. In the latter part of his career at GE, he traveled the world and Mom joined him for trips to England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden. In 1987, Mom and Dad found their dream home on Landen Lake, where they formed new friendships, and old friends knew they were always welcome. Dad and Mom were officers in the Landen homeowner association, and Dad continued to keep an eye on funds as Treasurer until just a few weeks ago. They were founding members of St. Margaret of York, and always supported the church and the school. Dad volunteered for years with Sycamore Seniors and Meals on Wheels (though when asked a couple of years ago if he would like to start getting Meals on Wheels, his blunt response was, "No, the food is terrible". He loved teaching his young grandchildren how to fish off the deck at Landen and he was so proud of them as they grew older, graduated from college and began careers, and then married. He gamely made his way to Lake Tahoe last November to see his oldest grandson, Andrew, get married and happily played videopoker in between the festivities. And how thrilled he was at the birth of two great-granddaughters less than a year apart: Delaney Saunders, daughter of Meg and Mike, and Norah Sloane, daughter of Pat and Heather. Both babies have our mother's beautiful blue eyes. Daniel Joseph Burke is survived by children Kathleen (Gene) Williams, Richard Burke, Eileen (Carl) Sloane, Daniel (Suzanne) Burke, and Paul (Leslie) Burke; grandchildren Andrew (Adrianne) Burke; Meghan (Mike) Saunders; Patrick (Heather) Sloane; Shane Burck; Madeleine Sloane, Christopher Burke, Kendall Burke, William Burke, and Paige Burke; and great-granddaughters, Delaney Saunders and Norah Sloane. Go in peace, Dad. We love and miss you but take comfort in knowing that you are reunited with Mom in God's loving hands. Visitation will be at St. Margaret of York Church, 9483 Columbia Rd., Loveland, on Tuesday, August 14 from 9:30 am until Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Memorials may be made to in Daniel Burke's name to the Sycamore Senior Center, 4455 Carver Woods Dr., Cinti 45242.

Service

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM St. Margaret of York 9483 Columbia Road Loveland 45140, United States

Service

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 11:00 AM St. Margaret of York 9483 Columbia Road Loveland 45140, United States