Dave Burke; boosted hopes and Irish heritage in Lawrence

"Some of us are second-, third-, and fourth-generation Irish, but we feel just as keen as if we were born there," he told the Globe in 2001. "The kinship is there. We want to pass it down from generation to generation, as it was passed down to us."

Few labored as mightily as he did to promote the culture and history of Ireland from an outpost on this side of the Atlantic. He organized Lawrence's annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast each year, was instrumental in getting a monument erected to commemorate the Irish famine, helped establish an Irish collection at the Lawrence Public Library, and was a mainstay of the local chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians.

Mr. Burke - a former deputy director of the Lawrence Housing Authority who stayed on in city government as a tireless, unpaid volunteer - died Wednesday in Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen of complications of cancer. He was 69 and had always lived in Lawrence.

Idle hours were few in his life. The phone was an ever-present tool that Mr. Burke used to organize events or find assistance for those less fortunate.

"Tell you one thing about him, when you were in meetings with Dave, they never went more than 10 minutes," said Michael J. Sullivan, the mayor of Lawrence. "He was quick and to the point. The meetings would be adjourned, and he would roll up his sleeves and do his part."

Among Mr. Burke's many accomplishments during the years he volunteered in the mayor's office, Sullivan said, were helping to establish the Mayor's Health Task Force, which promotes testing and screening for illnesses, and organizing a holiday food drive that for the past several years has brought turkeys and meals to the poor at shelters in Lawrence.

Myles Burke, a neighbor who is not related to Mr. Burke, worked with him for years in the Housing Authority and as the mayor's chief of staff.

"To me, he was someone who took the attitude that one person can make a tremendous difference," he said. "He was always looking for ways to improve Lawrence and do things for others. In his words: 'Let's do a Christian act of charity each day. It'll make you feel good.' "

At the Housing Authority, where he worked for about 35 years, Mr. Burke had ample opportunity to perform acts of charity. On a moment's notice, he found residences for people who had lost a home to a fire or were simply down on their luck.

Mr. Burke had a booming voice, but friends say that was not what made people listen when he asked for assistance.

"The thing that made Dave different was that it was never about Dave," said John Foley, a lawyer in Boston who was a radio reporter in Lawrence years ago when he met Mr. Burke. "He was always asking for something, but it was always for somebody else, so it was impossible to say no."

David R. Burke grew up in Lawrence, the third of four siblings. He played on undefeated football teams in 1957 and 1958 for Lawrence High, from which he graduated in 1959.

He went to Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colo., for two years, then returned to Lawrence for good when his father became ill. Not long after, he was out socializing one evening and met Patricia Jurewicz. They married in 1967.

"His mother was Polish and his father was Irish, but he took to the Irish side of his family," she said.

Nevertheless, the Burkes split the difference in their household.

"We celebrated Christmas and Easter with the Polish traditions, and the rest of the year was Irish," his wife said with a laugh. "We had a very nice arrangement, believe me."

Outside the house, Mr. Burke was Irish all the time. Sponsored by John Buckley, who was then mayor of Lawrence, Mr. Burke joined the Ancient Order of the Hibernians in the 1960s and for many years was vice president of the local branch, the Rev. James T. O'Reilly OSA Division 8.

As president of the local Irish Foundation, he pushed to establish An Gorta Mor, or The Great Hunger, a monument in Lawrence with a Celtic cross and three stone tablets that commemorates the city's activities during the Irish famine in the middle of the 19th century.

"Lawrence was one of the first American cities to organize a relief fund for the Irish famine victims and also welcomed thousands of Irish refugees who fled the famine during the 1840s and 1850s," Mr. Burke told the Globe when the monument was unveiled three years ago.

In 2006, the Hibernians presented Mr. Burke, who also supported peace efforts in Ireland, with the Sean MacBride Humanitarian Award, named for the Irish human rights activist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

When the immigrant heritage room was established at the south branch of the Lawrence library, he contributed from his own collection of Irish memorabilia and encouraged others to donate, too.

"He's instilled in many a love of Ireland and Irish culture," said William Sullivan, a local Hibernians leader. "And he left a lasting legacy. These books and materials will be here for generations to come. People can go and study there, if they're doing research papers for high school and college, and others can look at materials that will instill in them a love of their Irish heritage."

Said Myles Burke: "He was always trying to get people to look at Irish culture as not one of just parties and parades. He wanted people to look at Ireland for its contributions in literature and music and dance."

In addition to his wife, Mr. Burke leaves a son, Kevin of Lawrence; two brothers, Daniel Jr. of Portland, Ore., and Robert of Lawrence; and a sister, Anne of Eugene, Ore.

A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today in St. Patrick Church in South Lawrence. Burial will be in Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence.