Submitted by
Loyd Bishop

Funeral of Mrs. Burke

The funeral services of Mrs. Mary Burke, who died of cancer of the stomach on Friday last were conducted by Rev. Jas. Craighead at the home of A. M. Hunter Sunday morning at 9 o’clock. At the conclusion of the services the body was taken to the Frisco depot and at 10 o’clock Mr. Burke, the husband of the dead lady left for his home in Salina, Kansas. A permit was received from the Kansas State Board of Health late Saturday evening giving Mr. Burke permission to remove the remains to their former home in Salina. The bereaved family have our heartfelt sympathy in their sorrow. The following sketch of Mrs. Burke’s life may prove interesting to some of our readers.
Mary E. Burke was born near Chester, Randolph county, Ill., May 6, 1848 and died Jan. 19, 1900, aged 52 years eight months and 13 days. She was married to John W. Burke June 15, 1866, who with five children born to them still surviving her. The children are Mrs. Ella B. Hunter, of Blackwell. Arthur H., Elwood J. Howard C. and Edward G. Burke of her home near Salina, Kan. She is also survived by an aged father and two sisters of Salina, Kan., her mother having preceded her to the better home in August last. She united with the Presbyterian church very early in life and for about forty years has been a faithful loving member of the body

DEATH OF MRS. BURKE

The Unexpected Ending of a Noble Life at Blackwell, Oklahoma
From Daily Republican-Journal, Salina, Kansas.

John W. Burke, in answer to a telegram announcing that Mrs. Burke was lying at the point of death at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ella B. Hunter, Blackwell, Okla., was to have started south last evening, when a later telegram announced her death. He left for Blackwell last evening.
Mrs. Burke has been in delicate health since an attack of hemorrhage of the stomach some time ago, and her relatives have had fears of the ultimate result. Some months ago she went to the home of her daughter hoping to be relieved by the change. On Christmas Mr. Burke was called to Blackwell by the serious sickness of his wife, whom he found much better. On New Years he left her much improved in health, and able to be about. He expected soon to go back and bring her home.
The death of Mrs. Burke is a great blow to the family, who have the earnest and loving sympathy of all their many friends in their sudden bereavement. Their sorrow is increased by the fact that Blackwell is at present under quarantine regulations on account of some cases of supposed smallpox in that country, and that the remains will not be brought home at present for interment. Mrs. Burke’s final sickness was neuralgia of the stomach.
Mrs. Burke, whose maiden name was Mary Ellen Mann, was a daughter of W. Houston and Martha P. Mann. Her mother died last August, and her aged father still survives. She was born near Chester, Randolph county, Illinois, May 6, 1847, and thus was in her 53rd year. She married Mr. John W. Burke, on his return from the war, June 14, 1865, to whom she proved a most excellent wife. One daughter, Mrs. Ella B. Hunter, (Blackwell) and four sons – Arthur H. Elwood, J. C., Howard and Edward G. Burke – survive to mourn the loss of a most noble mother. She was a woman of strong mind and of independent convictions. She became a Christian while young, and united with the church early in life, continuing faithful unto the end. In her demise the Presbyterian church, of which she had so long been an honored member, will suffer a real loss. She was a Christian in heart and in life. She believed in a religion that might be carried along and worn everywhere and at all times. Her motherly ambition was strong to live Christ before her children that she might lead them to live for Him. The family left Illinois and came to Kansas in 1874 and settled on a farm a few miles north of town, where they resided till 1883 when they moved to the farm one mile west of Trenton, which has since been their home. Besides father, husband and children, Mrs. Burke leaves two sisters – Mrs. G. C. Griswold, living four miles north of the city, and Miss Lou L. Mann, matron of the asylum at Ossawatomie. All of these friends share in the tender sympathy of the entire community.