Janet Corrine (Atwood) Burke

Janet Corrine Atwood Burke, April 13, 1930 - May 1, 2026. A member of the Greatest Generation, devoted wife and beloved mother has passed away at her home, surrounded by family, at the age of 96 after a long, courageous battle with breast cancer.

The gates of Heaven will rattle as she enters, belting out her favorite hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” in her newly restored soprano voice. Her loving husband of 72 years, Martin P. Burke, Jr., passed away just five months ago at age 99. He will take her hand at the gates, as he has been totally lost without his “schedule” and her “honey do” list. A life-long match made in Heaven will finally reside there together.

Stock in Revlon red lipstick and bright pink nail polish just took a precipitous drop. Sales in Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion perfume and everything “Dolly Parton” will never be the same with her loss. The art of making ringlets in little girls’ hair with her deft fingers and bobby pins has been lost forever.

Mother was a graduate of East High School, Columbus, Ohio and of the nursing program at Saint Ann’s Women’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. She was also a department store model, admired for her beauty and likeness to actress Elizabeth Taylor.

When she met her soon-to-be husband on a blind date, the stars aligned, and this devout Protestant converted to Catholicism when that was required to marry a Catholic. The St. Ann’s nuns she worked for knew the Church needed her “spice.” Her laughter, comedic timing, rambunctious good nature and green thumb have hit Heaven. Her Lord is well-pleased.

At age 23, her journey as a mother began. She is survived by three daughters who adored her every touch: Rebecca Ann Burke, Laguna Beach, FL; Suzanna Rose Burke Spence, Plain City, OH; and Dr. Theresa Marie Burke, Columbus, OH. She was always there, even filling in with “mothering” to neighborhood children. She was known for an organized, spotless home which she maintained into her 80s while sporting perfectly coiffed hair, bright pink nails and red lipstick. She was called upon as a Room Mother that teachers could always count on. She was famous for her artistically decorated, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies for every holiday. Homemade meals were on the dinner table at 5:30 pm sharp, every day of our lives. We will also grieve the loss of her talcum powder scent as we rested our sleepy heads on her shoulder to hear her read to us and sing lullabies.

She knew everyone by name, everyone. These names, which they cherished, were always “sweetheart” and “honey.” She never met a stranger she could not charm, feed and send on their way with a smile. The door was always open.

She did not learn to drive, “carefully,” until age 35, thanks to Dad. That was the last time she would ever drive slowly. She had a lead foot and Elvis or Rock and Roll was always on the car radio. In her 80s, she confessed to only one unfulfilled dream about driving. She wished Dad would have bought her a yellow Hummer with vanity plates, “Fireball.” Had she asked him, he surely would have bought her one. A Caddy would have to do.

Janet Burke is survived by three grandchildren: Madelene DeHaven, Plain City, OH; Kathering Corrine Burke Pair, Nashville, TN; and Julia Ann Burke Pair, St. Louis, MO. (Son-in-law, Chris F. Pair, Nashville, TN.) She is also survived by three great grandchildren: Isabella and Mia Gonzalez, Plain City, OH, (Grandson-in-law, Kevin Gonzalez, Powell, OH) and Hudson DeHaven, Plain City, OH, (Grandson-in-law, Nick DeHaven, Columbus, OH.) She is also survived by one sibling, Norma Frazier (Richard), Columbus, OH.

Janet Burke is preceded in death by: her mother, Berdie Mae Lennington Atwood, Columbus, OH; her father, William W. Atwood, Cleveland, OH; her maternal grandparents, Stella Dell Peters Lennington and Arthur T. Lennington, Jersey Township, OH; Her step grandmother Beulah Tucker Lennington, Pataskala, OH. Janet Burke is also preceded in death by paternal grandparents William A. Atwood and Martha Helen Compton Atwood, Blacklick, OH.

Siblings preceding her in death are: Stella Henry (Kenneth), Bellefontaine, OH; Ernestine Klein (William), Columbus, OH; Betty Snider (Rev. William), Columbus, OH; and Mary Cowgill (James), Columbus, OH. Janet is survived by many dear nieces and nephews and their children.

Janet Burke is also preceded in death by her Revolutionary War ancestors and patriots: Captain Thomas Lennington of the New Jersey Quartermaster Corps, New Providence, NJ and Captain Nathaniel Bonnell of Chatham, NJ.

Her ancestors, the Bonnells, were the founders of Colonial Era Elizabethton, New Jersey. The family home still exists and serves as the headquarters of the Historical Society. The Lenningtons were founders of Colonial Era Chatham, New Jersey.

Cremation services provided by Schoedinger Northwest. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that remembrances be directed to: The Charity Newsies at: charitynewsies.org. or Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at: donate.imaginationlibrary.com.