Burke, Anthony Hale
Anthony Hale Burke, 71, of Tolland, husband of Marion (St. Louis) Smith Burke, died Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at Rockville General Hospital.
He was born in Hartford, son of the late Dudley and Helene (Hale) Burke, and had lived in Tolland for eleven years. He was a communicant of St. Matthew’s Church, and a Marine veteran of the Korean Conflict. Tony was a long time friend of Bill W. and will be missed by many.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his children and grandchildren: Melanie Plagmann and her daughters, Amanda and Christine, of Westlake Village, Pa., Connie Dempsey and her husband, Jim, of Feltonville, Pa., Tom and his wife, Tracy, and their sons, Doug and Dan, of Coventry, William Smith Jr. of Northfield, Vt., Christine Streeter and her children, Jenn and Jon, of Findley, Ohio, Ken Smith and his wife, Michelle, of Mansfield. He is also survived by his brother, Ross, and his wife, Joyce, of Colebrook.
He had a massive heart attack and didn’t make it. My Grammy said he didn’t have any pain and his face was completely calm.
We have a large family and everyone was there. Literally hundreds of people. The Marines were at the cemetary and it was beautiful. If you’ve seen the movie Big Fish. At the end when they are all at the fineral and everyone is laughing and smiling— thats how G-pa Tony’s funeral was. Everyone was smiling thinking about the things he did with his life.
Some things he did before he went:
Sponsored many AA members.
Went to school for drug and rehab counseling at age 65.
Aided in building an addition on the church to teach young people about God.
Went to Ireland to take pictures of his ancestors graves (He studied geneology).
Went on an Alaskan ruise and got home 2 weeks ago with my Grammy.
Sold their condo in CT and helped my G-ma move into their new apt. last Saturday.
Deposited the check into my G-ma’s bank account the morning he died.
Built the home of his dreams in Maine with only his own two hands. (Which he sold after a terrible accident at Otis Elevator Testing Tower caused him to retire early)
And so on and so on. He did so many great things. 
He left no unfinished business… which is a miracle with all the things he was involved in.
