Obituary of Richard Burke

WEST COLUMBIA—Funeral services for Richard Allan Burke, 64, of West Columbia, will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 6, 2012 at Thompson Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel. Officiating will be Rev. Shane Philips and Rev. Tommy Huddleston. Burial will follow in Woodridge Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made in his honor to Crossroads Baptist Church, 2500 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia, SC 29169 or West Columbia Police Officers Foundation, 200 N. 12th Street, West Columbia, SC 29169. Mr. Burke, beloved husband of Mary Less Burke, passed away on Sunday, December 2, 2012. Born in Columbia, he was the son of the late Richard Burke and Thelma Motley Burke. He was a lifetime area resident and a Veteran of the United States Army. He retired from the Army National Guard and from Federal Government civil service. He was a dispatcher and a park ranger for the City of West Columbia Police Department. He was a talented woodworking craftsman and an artisan. He also was an early 19th century pre-civil war re-enactor. He was a great guy all around, fine fellow that loved his family more than anything else in the world. Surviving including his wife, Mary Less Burke of West Columbia; sons, Michael Allan Burke of Columbia and Brian Heath Burke of West Columbia; granddaughter, Reagan Burke of Cayce; sisters, Marian Kemmerlin and Janet Lee Burke both of West Columbia and Jean Burke-McIntyre of Lexington; brother, David G. Burke of Chapin and numerous nieces and nephews.