Father William T. Burke, SJ, died on Friday, September 2, 2016, at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital in Pontiac, Mich. He was 81 years old, a Jesuit for 57 years, and a priest for 47 years.
Father Burke was born on January 2, 1935, in Hammond, Ind. He studied biology at Loyola University Chicago (1952-1957), before entering the Society of Jesus on September 1, 1959, at Milford Novitiate in Milford, Ohio. As a Jesuit, he earned bachelor’s and licentiate degrees in philosophy (1964), as well as a master’s degree in education, with a concentration in biology, from Saint Louis University (1966). He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1969, in North Aurora, Ill. He professed final vows on February 2, 1976, in the provincial residence in Oak Park, Ill.
In 1970, Father earned a licentiate degree in sacred theology from Bellarmine School of Theology in North Aurora. That year, he also earned a master’s of divinity from Loyola University Chicago. In 1991, he became a certified chaplain in the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.
Father Burke taught biology at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis during his regency and after his ordination. After his ordination, he also did graduate studies in microbiology at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine (1971-1973). While studying microbiology he did some pastoral ministry at St. Mary Parish in Riverside, Ill. (1972-73). The desire to help people pastorally far outweighed his interest in microbiology, and Father eventually found himself ministering at Saint Ignatius Loyola Parish in Sacramento (1973-1976). The Society then asked him to use his gifts for internal ministry with the Jesuits, and he became director of the Development Center at the Chicago Province office (1976-1980), before serving as director of Senior Jesuit Programs (1980-1981). In addition to his other duties, he was minister of his Jesuit community (1979-1981).
Throughout his life, Father Burke was an avid fisherman and fished whenever he could. While working in the province office, he heard there was great fishing in Alaska and decided to find out whether this is true. After a well-earned sabbatical, he moved to Alaska, where he worked and fished — he caught a 52-pound king salmon in Alaska’s Kenai River — for 20 years. He was a pastoral minister at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Nome (1981) and pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Delta Junction (1982-1987). He then worked as a chaplain at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (1987-1989), was trained in CPE in Spokane, Wash. (1989-1990), and was chaplain at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage (1990-2001).
Father Burke moved to Montana in 2001, where he was an associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church in Missoula. He spent the next 10 years as a chaplain, working at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula (2001-2005) and St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Mont. (2005-2010). After moving to Colombiere Center in 2010, he performed pastoral ministry until health issues prevented him from doing so.
In addition to Jesus and fishing, Father loved poetry and had his own work published. He shared his loves with all he met, always greeting people with a smile and, at times, a poem. The following poem of his appeared in the National Catholic Reporter. He wrote it when he was in Anchorage:
GOD IS A STRING BEAN
“Who is God?” his teacher asked.
“God is a string bean,”
the boy replied.
Supreme Beings are hard
to come by when you’re seven.
“That’s fine,” the teacher wisely said.
No one laughed. Each one
wished secretly he had
a chance to say string bean.
What a wonderful name for God!
Dear brother of Timothy Burke, Thomas Burke, Barbara Roper, Sara Zembala, and the late Mary Aspan, Patrick, Michael, Dennis, and Joseph Burke.
In State Wednesday, September 7, 2016, from 4:00 -7:00 p.m. at Colombiere Center, 9075 Big Lake Road, Clarkston, Michigan, with Prayers at 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass Thursday, September 8, 10:45 a.m. at Colombiere Center. Memorial Gifts may be made to: Jesuit International Missions or the Jesuit Partnership, 2050 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614, or online at jesuitsmidwest.org/supportus.
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