Obituaries 26 January 2020

Dennis 'Denny' E. Burke, 49

Dennis “Denny” E. Burke, age 49, of Alta Vista, IA passed away due to complications of cancer on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at his home.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Alta Vista with Father Jerry Kopacek celebrating the mass.  Burial will be at Union Cemetery in Alta Vista.
Visitation will be from 4:00-8:00 PM on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Alta Vista with a 3:45 PM Rosary.  Visitation will continue at the church one hour prior to the funeral mass on Wednesday.  Memorials may be directed to the family.
Dennis Edward was born June 9, 1970, the son of John and Eleanor (Wichman) Burke in New Hampton, IA.  He attended and graduated from Crestwood High School in 1989.  After completing his education, Denny went on to work as welder at Featherlite for 25 years, then Reicks View Farm and Innovative Ag Services before retiring due to complication with his battle against cancer.  He was united in marriage to Janna Busch on June 4, 1994 at Zion Lutheran Church in Alta Vista.  Together, they made their home in Alta Vista and welcomed three boys, Mason, Carson and Benson “Ben.” The couple later divorced, but remained close friends.  Denny was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer in January 2017.  From the first diagnosis, he fought fiercely and maintained that a body in motion stays in motion and was often heard saying, “I may have cancer, but cancer does NOT have me!”
Throughout his life, Denny had the reputation of pulling pranks and being the life of the party.  He could often be found socializing and grilling up something good.  His chocolate chip cookies were always a hit!  Denny enjoyed gardening and canning salsa, hunting and fishing with his three sons.  He was active with them in Boy Scouts and especially enjoyed taking them camping.  Denny was a member of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Alta Vista.
Those left to honor Denny’s memory are his sons, Mason Burke, Carson Burke and Ben Burke all of New Hampton; his mother, Eleanor Burke of Elma, IA; his siblings, Ann (Dennis) O’Brien of Elma, John Burke of Cresco, Edward (Kris Timp) Burke of Spillville, IA, Joseph (Sandra) Burke of Lime Springs, Patrick (Renee) Burke of Elma, Gene Burke of Elma, Chuck (Wendy) Burke of New Hampton, Rick (Lisa Kriener) Burke of Elma, Randy (Jenny) Burke of Elma and Kenny (Christine) Burke of Cresco; brother-in-law, Jeff Nibaur of Elma; ex-wife, Janna Burke of New Hampton; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Christopher; his father, John Burke; sister, Rose Nibaur and sister-in-law, Sue Burke; nephews, Adam Burke, Brian Burke and Anthony Burke.

Thank you for reading!

To read the full version of all available articles, you must be a subscriber to the New Hampton Tribune's website. To become a subscriber, please click here to be taken to our subscription page. If you already are a subscriber, please click here to login to the site and continue reading. Thank you.