Robert M. Bourke, 87, of Auburn, husband of Patricia (Pollinger) Bourke, died on Saturday, April 14, 2012. He was born in Worcester on January 15, 1925, the second and only surviving son of Lucien and Sylvia (Mondor) Bourke of Worcester.
He grew up in Worcester a child of French-Canadian parentage. His father had been born in Nicolet, Quebec, and until his sudden death early in Robert’s childhood the family spoke French. Raised by a single mother and a number of aunts, he knew the difficulties of the Depression firsthand but also enjoyed camping trips and travels with local youth organizations. These experiences would influence his volunteer work for the rest of his life.
In 1944 he graduated from Worcester Boys’ Trade with a diploma in Electrical Work. Following graduation he served in World War II as a Private 1st Class in the Army’s 561st Quartermaster Railhead Company, where he was stationed in Belgium, France, and Germany, at times supervising German prisoners of war. After the war, he resumed his vocation in electrical work, eventually assuming the position of master electrician.
After two decades as an electrician in the field, Mr. Bourke attended Fitchburg State College, earning a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1975. For a number of years he taught electrical work at Blackstone Valley Regional and Bay Path Regional technical high schools. He was a member of IBEW’s Local 96 for more than sixty years, and kept his electrician’s license current throughout his life. He was also active in his teachers’ union.
Robert and Patricia Bourke were married on October 12, 1946, at St. Peter’s Church in Worcester. They lived for a time on Millbury Street in an apartment owned by Mr. Bourke’s aunt, and later at his wife’s parents’ home on Beaver Brook Parkway. The couple bought a house in Auburn in 1951, where they raised five children. At the time their neighborhood was among the newest of the postwar boom, one that quickly formed a bond throughout the 1950s, establishing among other activities regular square dancing parties.
Skilled in construction, over the next few decades Mr. Bourke added to their standard Cape house attic dormers, a finished basement, and a number of sheds and porches, all of which he designed and constructed himself. He was known for his ingenuity in the home, a man who could figure out anything, customizing a wall chute to carry clothes from the upper floors to the basement; cubbyholes for the children to use as studies; storage spaces that open to double as a desk. Meanwhile he maintained his fascination for new electrical gadgets; at Christmas the house is a marvel of lights run by timers and remote controls. He was also an avid landscaper with a special interest in fruit and nut trees, while he also kept an eye out for interesting native plants that grew in the adjacent woods or by the side of the road. Over time the Bourkes’ yard became a thing of continuous beauty, in bloom from early spring to late fall.
Following a stroke that retired him from teaching, Mr. Bourke remained active in the community. Having already served as a scoutmaster for the local Cub Scouts, he continued to volunteer in a number of capacities with the Boy Scouts. He delivered food to shut-ins for Meals on Wheels. A member of St. Joseph Parish in Auburn, he raised money for the Bishop’s Fund for the Diocese of Worcester.
Mr. Bourke and his wife were avid travelers; over the years the couple enjoyed trips to far-flung spots such as Hawaii, San Francisco, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Park. They rode the Snake River in a raft. In Alaska, when in their seventies, they rode in a hot air balloon. On one anniversary they sat at the captain’s table throughout a Caribbean cruise. They also made it as far as Acapulco and London. For several years they spent winters in a daughter’s home in Port Charlotte, Florida, giving them the opportunity to travel throughout the state. On one excursion to St. Augustine, Mr. Bourke recalled a childhood memory of that city, where his mother and his aunt had taken him for a season during the Depression, when they worked as hotel maids. Throughout his life he was a model of the rewards of the frugality he’d learned during those years, while he derived his greatest satisfactions from his faith and his family. He will be remembered for his creativity and craftsmanship, his surprising sense of humor, and as a loving husband and father.
Mr. Bourke is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughters Patricia Hertzfeld of Putnam, Conn., Sharon Deffely of Auburn, Mass., and Linda Bourke of Gloucester, Mass.; his sons Robert Bourke of Heath, Mass., and Kevin Bourke of Queens, New York; a son-in-law, James Deffely, and a daughter-in-law, Kara Leistyna; grandchildren Mary King and her husband James, Elon Hertzfeld and his wife Melanie, Sean Deffely and his wife Kathryn, Brion Deffely, Daniel Bourke, Maura Bourke, Dylan Merrill, and Katherine Merrill; and great-grandchildren Haley and Hanna King, Barry and Drew Hertzfeld, and James and Erin Deffely.
Relatives and friend are invited to visit with Robert’s family on Wednesday, April 18th from 6-8 PM in the Britton-Wallace Funeral Home, 91 Central St., Auburn. His funeral will be held on Thursday, April 19th from the funeral home with a funeral Mass celebrated at 10 AM in Saint Joseph’s Church, 189 Oxford Street North, Auburn. Burial will follow in Hillside Cemetery, Auburn. Memorial contributions instead of flowers may be made to Veterans Inc., 69 Grove Street, Worcester, MA 01605