"Bill" William F. Burke

William (Bill) Frank Burke; Age 62 of Marietta, Georgia passed on April 1, 2017. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 2:00pm at Sandy Springs Chapel, 136 Mount Vernon Hwy, NE Sandy Springs, GA 30328.Visitation at 1:00pm-2:00pm. A reception will follow at 5060 Riverhill Road, Marietta, Georgia 30068.

The reverend Billy Wade will officiate.

Bill is survived by his wife, Jana of Marietta, Georgia; Daughters, Mary Britt Burke of Savannah, Georgia, Claire Burke of Charlotte, North Carolina,

Maggie Thomason and Son-in-Law Andrew Thomason of Atlanta, Georgia; Sister, Karen Conway of Montgomery, Alabama; Step mother, Dorothy Burke of Green Hill, Alabama, and many more beloved family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Prevent Blindness Georgia; 739 W. Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308; georgia-preventblindness.org.

Bill was born in Montgomery, Alabama on December 25, 1954. He attended Sidney Lanier High School and Auburn University. At Auburn, he studied Finance and Accounting and was a proud member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Bill, first and foremost, loved his family which included his golden retrievers, past and present. He was a man of many talents and enjoyed working with his hands in the garden, with tools and had a passion for cooking. Bill had a wicked sense of humor and lived for making people laugh just as much as he liked laughing. He was a sports enthusiast with a heart for the Auburn Tigers, the Atlanta Braves and a recent affinity for Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. His charisma would light up a room and instantly make you feel at ease. He had a way of making light of any situation and thrived off making memories with friends and family.

He had a passion for volunteer work, locally, with Prevent Blindness Georgia and especially cherished his travels with co-workers and friends to Aman, Jordan. Bill will be remembered as a caring husband, father, brother and friend; one who could make you laugh until you cried; a faithful man who believed in a higher being and one who had a heart that was bigger than words can describe.