Rose Theresa Burke

Rose was a member of the St. Stephens Catholic Church in Caseyville, IL, and she retired from the Locke Stove Company in East St. Louis, IL. Rose was also a long-standing member and officer of the VFW Post 1117 Ladies Auxiliary in Caseyville, IL. She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, who will truly be missed by all who knew her.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold G. Burke; her son, Craig A. Burke; and her sister, Elizabeth T. Mori.

Surviving is her only remaining son, Gregg A. Burke, and daughter-in-law, Robin; as well as her grandson and granddaughter, Sean Burke and Shannon Burke, all from Richardson, TX.

Memorials may be made to the Neurology Fund (7145) of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 1001 Highlands Plaza Dr. West, Suite 140, St. Louis, MO 63110-1337. Condolences may also be expressed online at www.lakeviewfuneralhm.com.

Visitation: Friends may call from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10th, 2014, at Lake View Funeral Home, Fairview Heights, IL.

Funeral: Services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10th, 2014, at Lake View Funeral Home; followed by a private burial at Lake View Memorial Gardens, Fairview Heights, IL, as Rose will be laid to rest beside her loving husband.

For My Mom

I wish to sincerely Thank each and every one of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to share your time with my Mom and for sharing some of your precious memories with me and my family.

I also want to Thank Father Ray from St. Stephen’s Catholic church in Caseyville for officiating this service to make this day so special for my mom.

We are here today to remember my mom, Rose, who was:

a loving and compassionate mother to Craig & I

a caring wife to my father Harold

a wonderful mother-in-law to my wife Robin

a generous grandmother to my children Sean & Shannon

a very close friend to her sister, my Aunt Lizzy, and to her Niece, Cheryl

and a dear friend or relative to all of you

If you weep any tears today of sadness or sorrow because my mom has departed us; I would suggest that you rather consider your tears to be symbols of the joy and celebration that my mom has finally been granted her wish by the Lord Jesus to allow her to return home to join those loved-ones that she has so dearly missed.

My mom has some special beliefs or even quirks some might think:

It started with the naming of my brother Craig and I. Both my Mom and her sister’s middle names are Theresa, as these were given to them after her mother’s first name. My mom didn’t have any girls so she was free to pick our middle names

To keep some form of the family tradition going forward though, she felt that we both needed to share the same middle name, just like she and her sister did

So she named us both Allen/Alan. His was spelled Allen and mine Alan

She also believed that our initials needed to spell out a word

So she named my brother Craig Allen Burke for CAB

And me Gregg Alan Burke for GAB

This always caused confusion amongst, believe it or not, not only my mother & my father; but also the relatives

They were always getting us mixed up so that led to us becoming nick-named as “the Big One and the Little One”

As an aside, Robin and I were fortunate to be blessed with wonderful children, a boy and a girl.

Robin was kind enough to allow us to keep the family tradition alive by naming my daughter’s middle name after my mom, Shannon Rose Burke

My mom also believed like her mother, that “special moments or events” always came in threes (3s)

I truly believe that she and the Lord chose the day of her passing, May 6th, to coincide with the 25th wedding Anniversary for Robin & I so that we could share this special day of celebration.

So, I’m not sure yet what the 3rd event is; but, maybe today that 3rd special moment or event will be shared with one of you.

I have a poem that I would like to read to you (it’s also on the remembrance cards) as I believe it’s a fitting way to guide us to pay tribute today to my mom.

You can shed tears that she is gone

or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back

or you can open your eyes and witness all the love she's left behind

Your heart can be empty because you can no longer see her

or you can be happy that she joins those loved ones that she dearly misses

You can dwell on the fact that she's gone

or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and share your sorrow

or you can do what she'd want:

smile, laugh, live life,

share your love,

and go on.