Timothy Darin Burke's Obituary
Timothy Darin Burke went to meet Jesus his Lord and Savior on December 4th, 2021. He battled an infection for 18 days but ultimately the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) that he had made it impossible to overcome physically. He was surrounded by his loving family when he passed from this life into eternal life and was greeted by his Lord who said, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”
Tim was born on July 27th, 1947 to Arthur and “Merle” Burke in Seattle, WA. He was raised in Pasco, WA with his older brother Mike and his younger sister Judy. He was born with a competitive spirit and was a three-star athlete at Pasco High School (class of 1965) excelling at basketball, football, and baseball. He graduated from Seattle University in 1969 and spent eight years in the Army Reserves. On April 2, 1971 he married the love and treasure of his life, Kerri Lee. They were married for fifty years and devoted their marriage to serving others. Tim was a salesman by trade but a relationship builder at heart and become one of the top salesmen of all time in Macy’s. Tim and Kerri raised three rambunctious boys (Darin, Trent, Ryan) who went on to marry beautiful women of God (Stephenie, Marie, and Natalia). They brought families into their home and cared for them. They loved and doted on grandchildren Jakob, Jakson, Kaylee, Addisay, Mylee, and Aliya and foster grandchildren Donovan, Damian, and Adrian. They served their local church, and they made and cultivated precious friendships, too many to count.
Tim will be remembered by many for his larger than life personality, smile, and humor. So many will say that they were deeply impacted by Tim and his love for them. He would say that he was a simple man with a simple plan, to love Jesus and love others. He fought the good fight and finished the race. He will be deeply missed. He is survived in his death by wife Kerri Lee, sons Darin (Stephenie), Trent (Marie), Ryan (Natalia), his six grandchildren, brother Michael Burke (Dawn) and sisters Judy Holya (John) and Sonja O’Brien (Tom). Tim and Kerri became snowbirds in 2019 and split their time between Florida and Washington State. If you wish to make a donation in honor of Tim, please make it for the Pickleball Court expansion and renovation project at the Plain Community Church at https://www.plaincommunitychurch.org or Beyond the Walls Food Pantry at https://www.heritagecommunity.org/btw.
A celebration of life service will be held at Heritage Community Church (509 W. Berckman St. Fruitland Park, FL 34731) in person and via live stream on the church's YouTube and Facebook pages (scroll to bottom of www.heritagecommunity.org webpage to access these links) on Saturday December 11th, 2021 at 11 am eastern time.
Another service will be held for Washington family and friends at Plain Community Church (12565 Chapel Drive Leavenworth, WA 98826) on Sunday January 2nd, 2022 at 2 pm.
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