Obituary of Helen M. Burke

Helen M. Burke (83) passed away peacefully on Friday morning, February 2, 2018, at her home in Woburn with family by her side. Helen grew up in Medway, Maine on her grandparent’s, Nina and Henry LaPoint’s dairy farm where she developed her love for the outdoors, nature and all types of animals. Medway is in an area of Maine she loved that included Millinocket and her beloved Mt. Katahdin. Medway is a very small town with a one-room school house where Helen attended grammar school. She skipped the third grade because she was the only student in that grade that year. Helen went on to earn her nursing degree from Maine Medical Center in 1955 and began a sixty-year career in nursing. Helen spent over 28 years as a Registered Nurse at Winchester Hospital, where she worked in almost every department including, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Surgery, ICU and Emergency. Helen also worked at the Veterans Hospital, Foxboro State Hospital and The Fitch Home. After retiring from nursing Helen continued to serve her community by volunteering at the Jenks Senior Center in Winchester and as a Tuesday volunteer at Winchester Hospital. She developed many wonderful friendships with her fellow nurses that continued through her life. To Helen, being a nurse meant not only caring for the sick and their families. Being a nurse also meant that Helen was always available to guide her family, friends and neighbors whenever they needed advice or quiet support. Helen embraced life, building wonderful memories with family and friends. She and Dick were married in 1956, and over the next 7 years, had four children, Sherri, Rich, Terry, and Joanne. They lived in Effingham New Hampshire, Somerville, Billerica, and Walpole until 1973, when they settled in Winchester where they lived for the next 45 years. Helen’s life revolved around her family. She was always there for her sons, daughters, and grandchildren, encouraging them in their educations, careers, and life decisions. She celebrated their successes and supported them through their difficult times. Helen had a great sense of humor. She was known for her practical and funny sayings; you were bored, you might hear “You have to make your own fun in the country” and if you were bickering you might hear “Fight you devils, I hate peace!”. Helen was the proud “Gram” to five grandchildren, Matthew, Richard, Mark, Amanda, and Rebecca. Gram was always interested in whatever they were doing. She attended countless school events, dance recitals, games, acting engagements, and whatever else was important to her precious grandkids. With Dick by her side, Helen also shared countless fun memories with their best friends, Joanne and Larry Jackson, and Barbara and Bill Nelson. They enjoyed social events, dinners, and travelling together. They relished their Sunday morning “mystery brunch” tradition that was always an adventure. As best friends, they were always there for each other. Helen was an avid Boston sports fan, she cherished her Red Sox, she loved coach John Farrell and you could always count on her to be watching her team and recording the wins and losses. Helen had numerous hobbies and interests. She loved bird watching and would always travel with her binoculars, hoping to get a view of a different species. She went to Aunt Pat’s for eagles, to Kimball’s for herons, and on a “Puffin” cruise off the coast of Maine. She enjoyed hot air balloon festivals, train trips, kite flying, puzzles, watching Judge Judy and anything purple. She cherished her family’s annual pilgrimage to the Fryeburg Fair, including all who wanted to come along. Helen was a special woman, strong in her Catholic faith, who spent her life caring for her patients, family and friends, enjoying warm friendships and expressing her unconditional love for all. Helen was the beloved wife of the late Richard C. Loving mother of Cheryl Dooley & her husband John of Winchester, Richard & his fiancé Michele Stecyk of Wagener, SC, Terrence & his wife Josephine of Haverhill and Joanne of Woburn. Proud Grandmother of Matthew Dooley and his friend Jaclyn Fitzpatrick, Richard X. Burke III and his fiancé Michaela Landay, Mark Dooley and his friend Alexandra Styler, Amanda Burke and her friend Edson Silva, and Rebecca Dooley. Sister of Patricia Carlisle of Turners Falls, Alta Jarvis of E. Millinocket, ME, Jeannette Morrison of Millinocket, ME, Arderienne Raymond of Waterville, ME, Judith Osborne of Augusta, ME and the late Adrian ‘’Junior’’ McDonald of Bowdoinham, ME. Funeral from the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128/95 Woburn side) on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Barbara’s Church, 138 Cambridge Road, Woburn at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-8 p.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers memorials in Helen’s name may be made to Children’s Hospital Trust, 401 Park Drive, Suite 602, Boston, MA 02215-5301 www.bostonchildrens.org/givenow