Obituary of Barbara Burdick

Barbara J. Burdick, a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother, passed away after a brief illness on Friday, February 5, 2016. She was 89 years old. Barbara was born, raised, and educated in Somerville. She was the daughter of the late Oscar and Mabel Cross. She married Ervin &quote;Irving&quote; Burdick and they had 3 children whom they raised in Somerville as well. She was a loving and supportive wife to her husband, Irving. She was a caring and encouraging mother. Along with her role as homemaker, Barbara worked all throughout her life, which became especially important with the passing of her husband when she was 55 years old. She spent many years working as a waitress at the Pine Tree Diner in Somerville, Harrows Restaurant in Reading, and at the Lord Wakefield in Wakefield. She ended her working career as an administrative assistant at Epsilon in Burlington. She enjoyed being independent and the friendship shared between her coworkers and customers. Barbara was always on the go and self-sufficient. She enjoyed photography and was the family historian documenting her family's history and growth in her countless scrapbooks. She loved to crochet and made afghans, hats, etc., for her family and when she ran out of family she even made afghans for family pets! She loved to sew and made several beautiful quilts for her grandchildren. She was a regular at the Dunkin Donuts in the Burlington Center where she and her friends, especially with her newest friend Edie, had a coffee and enjoyed a good conversation. Barbara was well known for her day trips! In her younger years, she loved getting in the car, picking a destination, and spending the day taking a long drive. She would drive to Connecticut for an ice cream cone and drive to Maine to visit Arcadia National Park. Her favorite activity was taking “Leaf Peeping” trips in the fall to the White Mountains. On one “day” trip, she made a wrong turn and ended up 20 miles from Canada! Barbara’s other love was shopping! She was known for saying “I need to go out, the store’s bottom line is dropping, they need my help!” She was a true bargain hunter and prided herself on getting the best “deal”. She had lived for the past 25+ years in Burlington. Barbara embraced life and loved her family, was very proud of her grandchildren and will be deeply missed by all those she has touched. Barbara was the beloved wife of the late Ervin &quote;Irving&quote; Burdick. She was the loving mother of the late Barbara Cameron & her late husband Lawrence, Stephen & his wife Vera of Stoneham, Gary & his wife Estelle of Peabody. She was the sister of Robert Cross of FL and the late Donald Cross. She was the grandmother of William & Scott Cameron of Wakefield, Stephen Burdick of Lowell, Christine Burdick of Stoneham, Richard Burdick of Wakefield, Thomas Burdick of Lynn, and Cameron Burdick of Peabody. She was the great grandmother of Anastasia Falaska, Aimee D'Apice, Grace Cameron, Jonathan and Jackson Burdick and great great grandmother of Michael Falaska. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 6-8 p.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. The funeral service and interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of her daughter, Barbara, who lost her battle with cancer, may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.