Anne Petersen Burk

1939 - 2016

Monterey

Sunday July 10, 2016 Anne Petersen Burk passed away at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula at the age of 76. Anne considered herself a lifelong resident of Monterey. She was born December 2, 1939 at the Peninsula Community Hospital to Robert Petersen and Anne Norwood Petersen. Anne’s father, Robert, was a talented craftsmen and member of the Monterey Liturgical Art Guild. Her mother was well known on the Peninsula as a teacher at Monterey High School and as one of the founding members of the Monterey History and Art Association.

Anne graduated from Monterey High School and was a dancer and actress at California’s First Theatre. While she attended Mills College, she spent time working with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Jose Limon, and Louis Horst in Connecticut. She graduated from Mills in 1961 with degrees in English and Dance. On a visit home during college, Anne met her husband John Harry Burk who was studying Russian at the Army Language School.

The couple married in 1962 in Ashland, Oregon while Anne was part of the ensemble of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They initially lived in Frankfurt, Germany where John was stationed with the Army Security Agency. Later, they moved to Evanston, Illinois where Anne attended Northwestern University and worked as a librarian at the Newbury Library in Chicago. A few years later the Burks moved to Kaysville, Utah where Anne completed her Masters of Library Science at Brigham Young University and gave birth to Anne Elizabeth Burk. The family moved to Geneseo, New York in 1976. Shortly after, Anne gave birth to a son, John Robert “Rob” Burk. While in New York Anne served as the Principal Librarian in Livonia until the family moved back to California in 1981.

Anne worked as a librarian in Fresno, Salinas, Livermore, and Greenfield before she eventually retired from the Carmel Valley Library in 2004. She was passionate about gardening, reading, story-telling, cooking and eating good food, drinking wine, and celebrating the arts. She traveled extensively with her husband across the United States, Europe, Russia, Asia Minor, Northern Africa, and Central America. Inspired by her mother, Anne also donated a significant amount of time and effort as a member of the board of the Monterey Civic Club, Monterey History & Art Association and was proud to be President of Los Amigos, the supporters of Casa Serrano. She was the recipient of many honors including Livermore’s Outstanding Employee, the MHAA Laura Bride Powers Award, and was elected to the National Librarian’s Society.

She will be deeply mourned by her husband John, her children Anne Burk of Los Angeles, Rob Burk and his wife Amy of Columbia, MD, and her two grandchildren Emma Elizabeth Burk and Sydney Lynn Burk. Anne will be dearly missed. Her kindness to all those she came in contact with will be remembered fondly.

A public requiem service will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Carmel at 10:30AM, followed by a public reception at Casa Serrano in Monterey from 12 to 3PM. Her remains will be interred in the church’s new garden and at sea off the coast of Big Sur.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Monterey History & Art Association, Attn: For Casa Serrano in Honor of Anne Burk, #5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey, CA 93940. Donations may also be made online through a link found at www.museumofmonterey.org.

Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.