John Francis Burke, esteemed attorney
John Francis Burke, 89, of Bethany Beach passed away peacefully Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, with his family at his side. John was born June 3, 1929, to Martin and Nora Burke who immigrated to the United States from County Galway in Ireland. He was a native Washingtonian, raised in Woodley Park.
He graduated from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary in 1942, Gonzaga High School in 1946, and Georgetown undergraduate in 1951. He served in the Army from 1952-54, and in 1958 graduated from Georgetown Law on the GI Bill. From 1954-58, he was a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for District of Columbia. He then went on to serve as law clerk for the Honorable Judge Edward Tamm, U.S. District Court of Appeals for District of Columbia from 1958-60.
He practiced law for more than 50 years, beginning with Keough, Carey & Costello in Washington, D.C. in 1960. In 1969 he joined the law firm of Bulman, Goldstein, Feld & Dunie. In 1979 he was made partner of Bulman, Dunie, Burke & Feld, where he remained until he stopped actively practicing law in 2010. Over his long career he served the professional community in many ways, including service on the Review Board of the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission (now the Attorney Peer Review Committee,) chairman of the Family Law Section of the Montgomery County Bar, chairman of the Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee, chairman of the Domestic Relations Committee of Montgomery County, co-founder of the Voluntary Arbitration Committee of the Montgomery County Bar, co-chair of the Mentor/Mentee Committee, and co-chair of the Montgomery County Bar. He supervised the preparation of The Code of Civility for Montgomery County, Md., which was adopted by the state as well as many other county bar associations. He also provided pro-bono services for persons experiencing domestic violence.
Over his lifetime he was an active parishioner at St. Thomas the Apostle in Washington, D.C.; Christ the King in Silver Spring, Md., (founding member); Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda, Md.; and the Parish of Saint Ann's in Bethany Beach.
John and Joanne were both active in civil rights events, including bringing their children to the Poor Peoples March on Washington in 1968. He also enjoyed sports, and was a loyal fan of the Washington Nationals (and Senators), Washington Redskins and Georgetown Hoyas.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years Joanne (Yarnall) Burke of Cumberland, Md.; his sister, Mary Burke Brown; his children, Ann Connor, Joan Rubertone (Mark), John (Julie), Martin (Kathleen), Cecilia D’Orazio (Richard); and 14 grandchildren, Louis King (Asiah), Katherine O’Neill (Colin), Kevin Connor, Vincent and Cecelia Rubertone, John Burke (Laura), Bridget Burke Florsic (Filip), Martin, Katherine, and Colin Burke, Matthew, Elizabeth, Andrew, and Joseph D’Orazio; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister Ann Burke.
A memorial Mass will take place Saturday, March 16, at 2 p.m., at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Kensington, Md. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Southern Poverty Law Center or Delaware Hospice.
Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.melsonfuneralservices.com.
