Mary Jo Burke's Obituary
Mary Jo Burke (née Flaherty), of Cinnaminson, NJ, passed away peacefully on October 11, 2019 surrounded by her children and husband. Born in Mount Carmel, PA to the late Daniel and Margaret (née Rooney) Flaherty, she was 91 years old.
Mary Jo was the much-loved wife of Thomas J. Burke for nearly 66 years. Loving mother of Thomas, Jr. (Pam), Joseph (Maureen), Mary Kathryn (the late Theodore) Ley, Michael (Tracy), Kevin (Lynne), Rosanne (John) Purcell, the late James, and deceased infants Anita Marie and Karen Marie. Dear grandmother of 18 and great grandmother of 10.
Born at home, Mary Jo often spoke of the warm and loving family she was privileged to grow up in even though several financial hardships befell them during the Depression years. Those difficulties helped shape her life but her outlook was formed equally by the positive impact of family. Mary Jo frequently spoke of her extended family, the love and protection of her parents, and of the two older brothers she adored, Charles and Edward. Many times she spoke of the daily letters she wrote to her brothers while they were in the South Pacific during World War ll.
Although Mary Jo began her Catholic grade school education in Mount Carmel, her family moved when she was 12 and she completed elementary school in 1941 at St. Frances de Sales in West Philadelphia. In 1945, Mary Jo graduated from West Catholic High School for Girls.
After high school, Mary Jo worked for the Bell Telephone Company for about a year until she felt the call to join the religious life whereupon she joined the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent. Her religious name was Sister Maria Josita. She was in the convent for four years teaching at a Catholic grade school in South Philadelphia and then St. Martin of Tours in Northeast Philadelphia. While in the convent, Mary Jo attended Immaculata College for enough time to receive a teaching certification. In time, Mary Jo prayerfully began to realize the religious life was not her calling; she therefore did not take her final vows and petitioned to leave the Order. In a year she was granted the right to leave. Mary Jo was supported by her parents when she entered the convent and was equally when she left.
Mary Jo returned to the Bell Telephone Company and continued to work there for a total of four years. Along with friends, Mary Jo joined the Catholic Discussion Club in the city where young Catholic men and women would meet weekly for social activities. During one of those meetings, she met Tom Burke who later mistook her change of address card as an invitation to call on her outside the discussion club. Within four months they were engaged and four months later on November 21, 1953 they exchanged marriage vows at Saint Patrick’s Church on S. 20th Street in Philadelphia.
Tom and Mary Jo went on to have a large family, starting in 1955 with Tommy and ending in 1969 with Jamie. In 1970, the whole family moved to Kwajalein, Marshall Islands in Micronesia. Those four years were a highlight of her life where she did missionary work and was host to the only annual St. Patrick’s Day party the island had ever seen up to that time.
Mary Jo and Tom taught Irish adult ceili dancing for many years and performed at exhibitions and parades with dancing groups. They were also longtime season ticket holders of Villanova basketball and football. She traveled with Tom for 10 of their retirement years visiting the 48 contiguous states in a motor home. They were also cruise enthusiasts.
Active in church life, Mary Jo was a Eucharistic Minister, past Chair and Vice President of the St. Charles Borromeo Altar and Rosary Society, and volunteer at the yearly parish carnival.
Mary Jo is also survived by many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends who will miss her dearly.
Relatives and friends are invited to gather at Givnish of Cinnaminson, 1200 Route 130 N., on Wednesday, October 16th from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. Mary Jo's Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 am at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 2500 Branch Pike, Cinnaminson. Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary Jo’s memory may be made to the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent in Malvern, PA http://ihmimmaculata.org/share-our-mission/give-a-gift/
To share your condolences and memories, please visit www.Givnish.com.
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