Obituary of RUSSELL BURKE

Funeral services for Russell Davis Burke, U.S. Army (Ret.), 79, of Columbia, will be held 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at Greenlawn Funeral Home Chapel, 845 Leesburg Road Columbia, SC 29209. Burial with military honors will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be Tuesday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Mr. Burke passed away on Sunday, August 28, 2011. He was born September 19, 1931 in Culpeper, VA. He was in active duty military service with the U.S. Army from October 1953 to July 1976, serving tours in Vietnam and Korea, and in Alaska. He was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry for his bravery. Following his active duty retirement, he continued to serve his country at Fort Jackson from December 1976 until September 1993. He was a former member of the Lake Murray Seniors Bass Club. Surviving are his companion, Gabi Holder; his children, Elizabeth Leona Burke and Missy Burke Graham; his step-children, Libby Holder, Donna Holder Sharpe (and husband Duane), Waylon Marvin Watts, and Ronald Edwin Watts; his grandchildren, Ashley Elizabeth Burke, Maralyn Elise Graham, and Layne Davis Dowey; his four step-grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by wives, Mary Shealy Burke and Edna Cameron Burke; his son, Russell Brew Burke; and his parents, Brew and Bessie Burke.