William H. Burke, Jr., 79 of Ridley Park died on April 12, 2024 at his home.  Born in Manhattan, NY, the son of the late Dr. William Burke and Ernestine Marie Feeney Burke, he lived in Trumbull, CT before moving to New Jersey for a time and then finally Ridley Park 45 years ago.

Bill was a graduate of Notre Dame Catholic High School, class of 1963 where he played football and softball and graduated with Honors.  He then received a bachelor's degree in Marine Transportation from King's Point M.M. Academy where he earned an award for having the highest marks in History. He received an associate's degree in Data Processing from Norwalk State Technical Institute.

Early in his career, Bill worked as a Merchant Marine Officer sailing all over the world until changing careers to be a computer programmer at Westinghouse in the late 1970s; he pursued his career at a couple firms until eventually leaving the field in 2000 to focus on raising his son after the passing of his wife, Linda S. McDonald Burke. Most recently, he was a school bus driver in the Ridley School District before retiring in 2016.

Bill was a lifelong devout Catholic and a faithful member of the Church of St. Madeline in Ridley Park; he loved St. Bernadette and went on a personal religious pilgrimage to Lourdes in France. Bill was an avid reader and history buff; he loved the classics and English fiction as well as classical music. His favorite ballet was Swan Lake, and his favorite opera was Marriage of Figaro.  Bill was also a railroad enthusiast and always enjoyed a train ride as much as model trains at home.  Other topics that interested Bill were cars, especially classics for which he had a photographic memory, and ships, for which he had a lifelong fascination both technical and historical.  He was also an avid Phillies and Eagles fan and enjoyed watching golf, especially Phil Mickelson. Bill was an avid NASCAR fan; his favorite driver was Jimmy Johnson. He also loved to travel around the country visiting family from California to Florida to Vermont.

He was the loving husband of the late Linda Susan McDonald Burke, the devoted father of William Harris Burke III, brother of Anthony "Tony" Burke (Sandra), Michael Burke, Carole Burke Jones, Katherine Burke Cherniavsky (Tom), Dr. Beatrice Burke (David Greene) and the late Dr. Robert Burke (Dr. Sharon Wardlaw), he is also survived by many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Funeral Mass 10:30 AM Friday, April 19, 2024 at The Church of St. Madeline, 400 Morton Ave., Ridley Park.  Burial SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery.