William F Burke
(December 31, 1930 – December 11, 2019)
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, December 19, 2019 in Howe and Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville, IL with Rev. Mark Sanders officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 18, 2019, in the funeral home. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery, Shelbyville, IL with military rites by the Shelby County Honor Guard. Memorials may be given to the Alzheimer Association, American Cancer Society or Shelby County Honor Flight.
Bill was born on December 31, 1930 in Westervelt, IL, the son of Ross Loren “Peck” and Hazel (Seigfreid) Burke. He graduated from Westervelt High School in the Class of 1948. Bill was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War and worked on airplanes stateside while in the military. After the service, Bill went to auto body and fender school in Chicago, IL. He returned to Shelbyville, and worked for the Oliver Corporation and then as a carpenter for Burk and Robbins. Bill later worked as a machinist and as a millwright for Borg Warner in Decatur and as a machine operator for Continental Bondware in Shelbyville, IL. Bill retired from the State of Illinois Department of Conservation, in Bethany, IL. He was a member of Shelby Christian Church and Roy Vanderpool American Legion Post #81 both in Shelbyville, IL and served on the Shelby County Republican Central Committee for many years. Bill enjoyed cars and all types of automobile racing. He attended the Indy 500 with his son, Pat, for many years as well as dirt track races throughout the area. He married Clara B. Forsythe on June 6, 1954. She died on September 28, 2018.
He is survived by his son, Patrick (Lynn) Burke of Bloomington, IL; daughter, Ida (Mike) Flesner of Springfield, IL; granddaughter, Bailey Flesner (Christopher) Kimball of Columbus, GA; grandson, Sterling Flesner of Springfield, IL; brother-in-law, Jim Forsythe of Shelbyville, IL; sister-in-law, Shirley (Dick) Holland of Findlay, IL; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Clara; sisters-in-law, Juanita Reed Wicker and Joyce Forsythe; and brothers-in-law, Dale Reed and Hugh Wicker.
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