Obituary: Dorothy Burke, retired head of residence

Dorothy M. (Hopper) Burke, 102, of Amherst, a retired head of residence, died June 16.

Born in Highland, N.Y., she was educated in the Newburgh, N.Y., public schools and graduated from Cornell University in 1932.

She was married to James W. Burke of Waverly, N.Y., in 1932 and they were divorced in 1958.

She came to Amherst in 1935. From 1956-66, she was employed at the Amherst Journal Record, first as a stringer, then as assistant editor, and from 1964-66 as news editor.

 

Burke was hired by the Dean of Women's Office in 1966 as the first head of residence in Patterson House in Southwest. She later transferred to Housing and retired as a head of residence in 1978, but returned as a clerical assistant for a year. From 1979-86, she was an assistant cluster coordinator in Orchard Hill.

 

She  served on the Amherst Council on Aging from 1997 to 2002 and was a member of the Amherst Woman's Club and the Amherst Historical Society.

She leaves three sons, Dennis Michael Burke of Belchertown, Peter James Burke of Riverside, Calif., and Stephen E. Burke of East Dennis. Her daughter, Sheila T. Burke of Amherst, died in 2004. She also leaves a sister, 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Calling hours are Friday, June 21 from 5-7 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst.

A graveside service will be held at the convenience of the family in Highland Cemetery, New York.