Mr. Douglas M. Burke

Douglas McKenny Burke, 66, of West Columbia, South Carolina, died Thursday, April 3, 2014, after a short illness. Born January 28, 1948 in New York City, he was the only son of the late Hugh McKenny Burke of Atlanta, Georgia, and Catherine McNeil Ferguson Burke of Glasgow, Scotland. His parents married in 1946 in Scotland after World War II. His father was a controller and financial officer for Aramco and Occidental Petroleum Company. Doug grew up and lived all over the world with his parents, including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Thailand, Indonesia, Spain, England, Texas and California. Doug’s favorite state was The Lone Star State. His unusual life enabled him to mingle with movie stars and mullahs, and even the future dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. As any boy would, Doug loved making mischief in Arabia and riding horses in Spain with his father. Upon Hugh’s retirement, the family settled in Hilton Head Island, SC. After his father’s death, Doug moved with his mother to Aiken, SC, for 12 years. In Aiken, Doug was a member of Woodside Country Club, where at one point a golf buddy thought him to be one of their top players. He was a scratch golfer, and proud equally of his hole-in-one, his straight-ahead drives, and his short game. He regularly golfed with several different foursomes, and to hear him tell it, he often got the better of his golfing buddies. Doug also loved fishing, boats and cars. For the last year of his life, Doug lived at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community, near family in West Columbia. He enjoyed having his ‘Guardian Angel’, Delores Talamantes of Aiken, stroll him around campus where he loved playing pool with his little cousins, eating a good hamburger and fries in the Bistro, and participating in the many activities offered by Still Hopes, especially concerts by Bob Michalski, everyone’s favorite saxophone player. The Burke family could not have cared well for Doug and his mother without the additional support and sacrificial care given by Delores Talamantes, the Director of Still Hopes Solutions for Living at Home, Elizabeth Nassif and her assistant, Demetria Godfrey, along with their wonderful team of kind Solution Partners. The family also gratefully acknowledges the entire Still Hopes administration, and staff, for providing a level of care and support that only home can rival. Doug loved ‘his girls’ (and Robert), the nursing staff on Jane Bruce Guignard, especially those who exemplified an unusual Christ-like kindness when he (and his family) were having a hard day. You are loved. Doug was a man’s man with a young man’s heart. He loved his big local Burke family and loved being surrounded by them. He will be greatly missed by them all. Survivors include his aunt Moire Ferguson Crudgington of England; Russell (cousin) and Dara Burke, of West Columbia; and many other cousins in the United States, England, and Australia. Like his father whom he loved dearly, Doug was Catholic. A graveside service will be held at 1 o’clock, Monday, April 7, 2014 at Elmwood Cemetery, with The Rev. Chip Edgar of Church of the Apostles officiating. Family and friends of Douglas, and the Burke family, are invited to a reception in celebration of his life at the Burke home on Monday from 3-7 pm, 300 Rockmount Drive, West Columbia.

Tributes

Mr. Douglas M. Burke

January 28, 1948 - April 3, 2014