Charles R Burke

Age: 81

Date of Death: May 15, 2021

Edison, NJ

Charles “Chuck” Burke, Sr., 81 of Edison, after a valiant fight against cancer, passed away peacefully at home on May 15th while holding his wife, Dianne’s, hand. He was born to Francis and Amelia Burke, and had an older sister, Francis. Chuck had fond memories of Boy Scouts, where his father was the Boy Scout Leader, and Chuck achieved Eagle Scout rank. He built model airplanes, played JV Basketball in High School, and held a job after school at the local hardware store. In the later 1950’s, when radar was unable to pick up low flying planes, and Russia was a prominent threat, Chuck was a volunteer for the “Ground Observers”. He manned a post on a factory rooftop near the shoreline, and identified the plane types and tail numbers flying overhead, and used a hand crank telephone to call the details in to HQ so they could assess if the planes were enemy or friendly. His early years were in Hillside, NJ until his family moved to Lawrence Harbor, NJ where Chuck attended St. Mary’s Catholic High School in South Amboy, NJ. He graduated, at age 17, and immediately joined the Air Force. They determined he had an aptitude for spatial awareness and machinery, and he became an Aircraft/Airframe/Engine mechanic for propeller and jet engine airplanes. He was very proud of the education and experiences he acquired while he served from 1957 to 1961. He worked for NJ Bell/Verizon for 30 years, and finished his career as a teacher for the (Verizon) Telecommunications Class at Union County Vo-Tech. He was extremely proud to teach students about his profession, and to help them acquire the work ethic to be successful in their futures. He had many happy memories from this role, and cherished it as his best occupation. He raised four children, and together they enjoyed camping, canoeing, the NJ Shore, sailing and travel. He and Dianne were able to watch their eight grandchildren grow into successful adults – which he bragged about constantly. His friend, Jim Capone shared, “Chuck knew how to retire!” Chuck and Dianne spent nearly 30 years sailing the east coast from Maine to the Caribbean, and then driving their RV through 49 states and Canada. He enjoyed Irish Mist, Jeopardy, reading the NY Times, doing crossword puzzles, Jazz music, tinkering on the boat and RV, perpetually learning, and most especially, hosting his family and friends. Chuck was predeceased by his parents and a sister Frances Anthes. He is survived by his loving wife of 27 years Dianne, daughters Marjorie Burke-McCann, Mary Burke, Michelle Bradway and her husband Ed, Sharon Lokos and her husband Tim, Rhonda Mastracchio and her husband Adam, and son Charles Burke Jr. Grandchildren include Christopher Brooks Jr., Patrick McCann, Zach Lokos, Maeve McCann, Emily Lokos, Jason Brooks, Mina Bradway and Ed Bradway Jr. A memorial gathering will take place Saturday May 22nd from 12pm to 2pm at the Gerity and Chubenko Funeral Home 411 Amboy Avenue Woodbridge, NJ 07095. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Chuck’s name to either PBS Thirteen PO Box 1313 NY, NY 10101 or American Cancer Society at https://donate3.cancer.org.