Marian Helen Burke

Marian Helen Burke (née Brady), 99, died peacefully on May 4.

Daughter of Helen and Joseph Brady, she was raised in the Bronx, attended Cathedral High School, and graduated from the College of Mt. St. Vincent.

In 1942, she met Francis D. Burke when they both worked part-time at Macy’s; they married in 1948, after he returned as a prisoner of war in WWII. Marian and Frank enjoyed 69 years together, living in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in NYC as well as Pt. Lookout, NY and Newtown Square, PA. They had four children: Ellen Orlando (Jack, deceased); Anne Corridan (Tom, deceased); J.R. (Betsy); and Chris; 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.

After years of supporting Frank as he rose through the ranks of the NYPD, Marian forged her own career and was a pioneer of sorts, was the first women to manage the acclaimed National Stationery Show in NYC. She served on the Board of the National Down Syndrome Society for over 40 years. A woman of deep Catholic faith, she loved having family around her, happy hour with Frank (always ending with a “halfie”), playing bridge at the beach with her lifelong friends, and a good crossword and library book.

In the days following her death the same phrase has been used over and over to describe her: “a true lady.” Services to follow in New York this summer.