Anna Belle Burke died Oct. 24, 2007, in St. Peter's Hospital from pneumonia, heart and renal failure associated with MERSA bacterium.
She was born Sept. 9, 1918, in Moccasin, to Esther and Boyd Wark, the second of 12 children. She graduated as the valedictorian from Moccasin High School in 1936, and from Billings Business College in 1938, with an associate's degree in business.
As a top student, she was immediately hired by the Heetderks-Scherer Medical Clinic in Bozeman and worked there until resigning to care for her children in December 1948. During World War II, she worked 12-hour days due to a shortage of trained workers.
Through self study and on-the-job training at the clinic, she became a registered medical and X-ray technician. (Later, at the request of the University of Minnesota, she joined a nationwide study of X-ray technicians who worked with X-ray equipment of far greater emissions than today's machinery. Unlike many others, she came through unharmed).
On Nov. 8, 1947, in Butte she married Francis E. Burke, whom she met in Mrs. Hughes' Boarding House for MSU students in Bozeman. In that area, they camped and fished in high mountain lakes, riding Frank's war surplus Indian motorcycle. On one Fourth of July, they chopped holes in foot-thick lake ice. When Frank got a bonus working nights and weekends at Rolfe and Mest Garage, they rented a Luscombe 2-seater and flew to Stevensville to visit Anne's family, a joyous event for all.
In 1949, they moved with six-month old Patti to Dayton, Ohio, in a decrepit Chevy with bowed-out knee-action front wheels that gave it a tired look. On a hot Indiana day, a piston rod gave up. Luckily, it was a quiet traffic day and they were within pushing distance of a rural gas station run by an operator with a heart of gold and no business. He drove 30 miles to an auto parts store. On his return, Frank had everything apart and put it all together. They hit the road after the man refused payment except for the cost of the rod and gaskets - truly an angel in disguise.
In Dayton, Frank worked at Wright Field as a mechanical engineer until 1951, when he became an FBI agent. The next 27 years they lived in Omaha, Neb., where the stockyard smell was too ripe for Anne's sensitive nose; then Pittsburgh - cleaner than expected - since steel mill grime was being sandblasted off the downtown buildings; Bluefield, W.Va.; Coeur d' Alene, Idaho; Milwaukee; and best of all, Helena, where Anne was centrally located among her large, extended family. Up to the time of her death, though almost blind, she stayed in touch with cherished minds from childhood and from wherever she lived.
Anne had a super green thumb and could revive any of our gardening mistakes. Her children consider Anne a "mother extraordinaire." She was a Brownie troop leader in Bluefield and Coeur d' Alene, and was awarded the Girl Scouts' highest achievement award. She taught her Brownie troops how to knit sweaters for their Barbie dolls. They called her the "Wonderful Mrs. B."
Anne was a charter member of Billings Bible Church and a Sunday school teacher in Grace Tabernacle Church in Bozeman. Anne maintained her graciousness and generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and her Montana independence to the end of her life. She absolutely lived her moral values and demonstrated her spirituality by her uplifting words and bringing hope and kindness to others. She was and will remain cherished and loved.
Anne and Frank would have celebrated 60 wonderful years of marriage on Nov. 8.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Mae Wark of Deer Lodge, June Parks, of Columbus, Ga.; and brothers , John, Gene, Carl, Don, and George of Montana.
Her family is grateful to Dr. Daniel Hesskamp, Bob Hodge, her nephew and ER nurse, the staff on the medical floor, all of whom fought valiantly to give us a little more time with her, but respected her wishes to release her when her loving heart failed. Also to Navy nurse Heather Lyon, Anne's granddaughter, who on a visit saw the need for special foam boots to prevent diabetic heel ulcers; to Joni Walton, Carroll College nursing professor, who while leading students on an instructional tour of the hospital in the past, conferred with Anne and suggested medical devices that brought her much comfort there and at home; to Dr. Anthony Quebedeau, who successfully cured Anne's painful heel ulcers; and to Dr. Tracy Dill, her physician prior to his joining St. Peter's Hospital staff.
Anne is survived by her husband; children, Patti, John, and David Burke and Cindy and Dave Holcomb; grandchildren, Heather Lyon of Rota, Spain, Will and Amelia Lyon of Missoula, and James Burke of Coeur d' Alene; her sisters, Edie Wark of Stevensville, Marie and Norm DeBoer of Boardman, Ore., Helen Cushman of Cooperstown, N.D.; sisters-in-law, Vi and Edith Wark of the Bitterroot; brother, Charles and Libby Wark of Park City; and extended family and friends.
Cremation has taken place and a memorial service celebrating Anna's life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Retz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment of her cremated remains will be at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison at a later date.
Express condolences at www.legacy.com/HelenaIR.
Published in the Helena Independent Record on 11/1/2007.
She was born Sept. 9, 1918, in Moccasin, to Esther and Boyd Wark, the second of 12 children. She graduated as the valedictorian from Moccasin High School in 1936, and from Billings Business College in 1938, with an associate's degree in business.
As a top student, she was immediately hired by the Heetderks-Scherer Medical Clinic in Bozeman and worked there until resigning to care for her children in December 1948. During World War II, she worked 12-hour days due to a shortage of trained workers.
Through self study and on-the-job training at the clinic, she became a registered medical and X-ray technician. (Later, at the request of the University of Minnesota, she joined a nationwide study of X-ray technicians who worked with X-ray equipment of far greater emissions than today's machinery. Unlike many others, she came through unharmed).
On Nov. 8, 1947, in Butte she married Francis E. Burke, whom she met in Mrs. Hughes' Boarding House for MSU students in Bozeman. In that area, they camped and fished in high mountain lakes, riding Frank's war surplus Indian motorcycle. On one Fourth of July, they chopped holes in foot-thick lake ice. When Frank got a bonus working nights and weekends at Rolfe and Mest Garage, they rented a Luscombe 2-seater and flew to Stevensville to visit Anne's family, a joyous event for all.
In 1949, they moved with six-month old Patti to Dayton, Ohio, in a decrepit Chevy with bowed-out knee-action front wheels that gave it a tired look. On a hot Indiana day, a piston rod gave up. Luckily, it was a quiet traffic day and they were within pushing distance of a rural gas station run by an operator with a heart of gold and no business. He drove 30 miles to an auto parts store. On his return, Frank had everything apart and put it all together. They hit the road after the man refused payment except for the cost of the rod and gaskets - truly an angel in disguise.
In Dayton, Frank worked at Wright Field as a mechanical engineer until 1951, when he became an FBI agent. The next 27 years they lived in Omaha, Neb., where the stockyard smell was too ripe for Anne's sensitive nose; then Pittsburgh - cleaner than expected - since steel mill grime was being sandblasted off the downtown buildings; Bluefield, W.Va.; Coeur d' Alene, Idaho; Milwaukee; and best of all, Helena, where Anne was centrally located among her large, extended family. Up to the time of her death, though almost blind, she stayed in touch with cherished minds from childhood and from wherever she lived.
Anne had a super green thumb and could revive any of our gardening mistakes. Her children consider Anne a "mother extraordinaire." She was a Brownie troop leader in Bluefield and Coeur d' Alene, and was awarded the Girl Scouts' highest achievement award. She taught her Brownie troops how to knit sweaters for their Barbie dolls. They called her the "Wonderful Mrs. B."
Anne was a charter member of Billings Bible Church and a Sunday school teacher in Grace Tabernacle Church in Bozeman. Anne maintained her graciousness and generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and her Montana independence to the end of her life. She absolutely lived her moral values and demonstrated her spirituality by her uplifting words and bringing hope and kindness to others. She was and will remain cherished and loved.
Anne and Frank would have celebrated 60 wonderful years of marriage on Nov. 8.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Mae Wark of Deer Lodge, June Parks, of Columbus, Ga.; and brothers , John, Gene, Carl, Don, and George of Montana.
Her family is grateful to Dr. Daniel Hesskamp, Bob Hodge, her nephew and ER nurse, the staff on the medical floor, all of whom fought valiantly to give us a little more time with her, but respected her wishes to release her when her loving heart failed. Also to Navy nurse Heather Lyon, Anne's granddaughter, who on a visit saw the need for special foam boots to prevent diabetic heel ulcers; to Joni Walton, Carroll College nursing professor, who while leading students on an instructional tour of the hospital in the past, conferred with Anne and suggested medical devices that brought her much comfort there and at home; to Dr. Anthony Quebedeau, who successfully cured Anne's painful heel ulcers; and to Dr. Tracy Dill, her physician prior to his joining St. Peter's Hospital staff.
Anne is survived by her husband; children, Patti, John, and David Burke and Cindy and Dave Holcomb; grandchildren, Heather Lyon of Rota, Spain, Will and Amelia Lyon of Missoula, and James Burke of Coeur d' Alene; her sisters, Edie Wark of Stevensville, Marie and Norm DeBoer of Boardman, Ore., Helen Cushman of Cooperstown, N.D.; sisters-in-law, Vi and Edith Wark of the Bitterroot; brother, Charles and Libby Wark of Park City; and extended family and friends.
Cremation has taken place and a memorial service celebrating Anna's life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Retz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment of her cremated remains will be at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison at a later date.
Express condolences at www.legacy.com/HelenaIR.
Published in the Helena Independent Record on 11/1/2007.
Anna Belle Burke died Oct. 24, 2007, in St. Peter's Hospital from pneumonia, heart and renal failure associated with MERSA bacterium.
She was born Sept. 9, 1918, in Moccasin, to Esther and Boyd Wark, the second of 12 children. She graduated as the valedictorian from Moccasin High School in 1936, and from Billings Business College in 1938, with an associate's degree in business.
As a top student, she was immediately hired by the Heetderks-Scherer Medical Clinic in Bozeman and worked there until resigning to care for her children in December 1948. During World War II, she worked 12-hour days due to a shortage of trained workers.
Through self study and on-the-job training at the clinic, she became a registered medical and X-ray technician. (Later, at the request of the University of Minnesota, she joined a nationwide study of X-ray technicians who worked with X-ray equipment of far greater emissions than today's machinery. Unlike many others, she came through unharmed).
On Nov. 8, 1947, in Butte she married Francis E. Burke, whom she met in Mrs. Hughes' Boarding House for MSU students in Bozeman. In that area, they camped and fished in high mountain lakes, riding Frank's war surplus Indian motorcycle. On one Fourth of July, they chopped holes in foot-thick lake ice. When Frank got a bonus working nights and weekends at Rolfe and Mest Garage, they rented a Luscombe 2-seater and flew to Stevensville to visit Anne's family, a joyous event for all.
In 1949, they moved with six-month old Patti to Dayton, Ohio, in a decrepit Chevy with bowed-out knee-action front wheels that gave it a tired look. On a hot Indiana day, a piston rod gave up. Luckily, it was a quiet traffic day and they were within pushing distance of a rural gas station run by an operator with a heart of gold and no business. He drove 30 miles to an auto parts store. On his return, Frank had everything apart and put it all together. They hit the road after the man refused payment except for the cost of the rod and gaskets - truly an angel in disguise.
In Dayton, Frank worked at Wright Field as a mechanical engineer until 1951, when he became an FBI agent. The next 27 years they lived in Omaha, Neb., where the stockyard smell was too ripe for Anne's sensitive nose; then Pittsburgh - cleaner than expected - since steel mill grime was being sandblasted off the downtown buildings; Bluefield, W.Va.; Coeur d' Alene, Idaho; Milwaukee; and best of all, Helena, where Anne was centrally located among her large, extended family. Up to the time of her death, though almost blind, she stayed in touch with cherished minds from childhood and from wherever she lived.
Anne had a super green thumb and could revive any of our gardening mistakes. Her children consider Anne a "mother extraordinaire." She was a Brownie troop leader in Bluefield and Coeur d' Alene, and was awarded the Girl Scouts' highest achievement award. She taught her Brownie troops how to knit sweaters for their Barbie dolls. They called her the "Wonderful Mrs. B."
Anne was a charter member of Billings Bible Church and a Sunday school teacher in Grace Tabernacle Church in Bozeman. Anne maintained her graciousness and generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and her Montana independence to the end of her life. She absolutely lived her moral values and demonstrated her spirituality by her uplifting words and bringing hope and kindness to others. She was and will remain cherished and loved.
Anne and Frank would have celebrated 60 wonderful years of marriage on Nov. 8.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Mae Wark of Deer Lodge, June Parks, of Columbus, Ga.; and brothers , John, Gene, Carl, Don, and George of Montana.
Her family is grateful to Dr. Daniel Hesskamp, Bob Hodge, her nephew and ER nurse, the staff on the medical floor, all of whom fought valiantly to give us a little more time with her, but respected her wishes to release her when her loving heart failed. Also to Navy nurse Heather Lyon, Anne's granddaughter, who on a visit saw the need for special foam boots to prevent diabetic heel ulcers; to Joni Walton, Carroll College nursing professor, who while leading students on an instructional tour of the hospital in the past, conferred with Anne and suggested medical devices that brought her much comfort there and at home; to Dr. Anthony Quebedeau, who successfully cured Anne's painful heel ulcers; and to Dr. Tracy Dill, her physician prior to his joining St. Peter's Hospital staff.
Anne is survived by her husband; children, Patti, John, and David Burke and Cindy and Dave Holcomb; grandchildren, Heather Lyon of Rota, Spain, Will and Amelia Lyon of Missoula, and James Burke of Coeur d' Alene; her sisters, Edie Wark of Stevensville, Marie and Norm DeBoer of Boardman, Ore., Helen Cushman of Cooperstown, N.D.; sisters-in-law, Vi and Edith Wark of the Bitterroot; brother, Charles and Libby Wark of Park City; and extended family and friends.
Cremation has taken place and a memorial service celebrating Anna's life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Retz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment of her cremated remains will be at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison at a later date.
Express condolences at www.legacy.com/HelenaIR.
Published in the Helena Independent Record on 11/1/2007.
She was born Sept. 9, 1918, in Moccasin, to Esther and Boyd Wark, the second of 12 children. She graduated as the valedictorian from Moccasin High School in 1936, and from Billings Business College in 1938, with an associate's degree in business.
As a top student, she was immediately hired by the Heetderks-Scherer Medical Clinic in Bozeman and worked there until resigning to care for her children in December 1948. During World War II, she worked 12-hour days due to a shortage of trained workers.
Through self study and on-the-job training at the clinic, she became a registered medical and X-ray technician. (Later, at the request of the University of Minnesota, she joined a nationwide study of X-ray technicians who worked with X-ray equipment of far greater emissions than today's machinery. Unlike many others, she came through unharmed).
On Nov. 8, 1947, in Butte she married Francis E. Burke, whom she met in Mrs. Hughes' Boarding House for MSU students in Bozeman. In that area, they camped and fished in high mountain lakes, riding Frank's war surplus Indian motorcycle. On one Fourth of July, they chopped holes in foot-thick lake ice. When Frank got a bonus working nights and weekends at Rolfe and Mest Garage, they rented a Luscombe 2-seater and flew to Stevensville to visit Anne's family, a joyous event for all.
In 1949, they moved with six-month old Patti to Dayton, Ohio, in a decrepit Chevy with bowed-out knee-action front wheels that gave it a tired look. On a hot Indiana day, a piston rod gave up. Luckily, it was a quiet traffic day and they were within pushing distance of a rural gas station run by an operator with a heart of gold and no business. He drove 30 miles to an auto parts store. On his return, Frank had everything apart and put it all together. They hit the road after the man refused payment except for the cost of the rod and gaskets - truly an angel in disguise.
In Dayton, Frank worked at Wright Field as a mechanical engineer until 1951, when he became an FBI agent. The next 27 years they lived in Omaha, Neb., where the stockyard smell was too ripe for Anne's sensitive nose; then Pittsburgh - cleaner than expected - since steel mill grime was being sandblasted off the downtown buildings; Bluefield, W.Va.; Coeur d' Alene, Idaho; Milwaukee; and best of all, Helena, where Anne was centrally located among her large, extended family. Up to the time of her death, though almost blind, she stayed in touch with cherished minds from childhood and from wherever she lived.
Anne had a super green thumb and could revive any of our gardening mistakes. Her children consider Anne a "mother extraordinaire." She was a Brownie troop leader in Bluefield and Coeur d' Alene, and was awarded the Girl Scouts' highest achievement award. She taught her Brownie troops how to knit sweaters for their Barbie dolls. They called her the "Wonderful Mrs. B."
Anne was a charter member of Billings Bible Church and a Sunday school teacher in Grace Tabernacle Church in Bozeman. Anne maintained her graciousness and generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and her Montana independence to the end of her life. She absolutely lived her moral values and demonstrated her spirituality by her uplifting words and bringing hope and kindness to others. She was and will remain cherished and loved.
Anne and Frank would have celebrated 60 wonderful years of marriage on Nov. 8.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Mae Wark of Deer Lodge, June Parks, of Columbus, Ga.; and brothers , John, Gene, Carl, Don, and George of Montana.
Her family is grateful to Dr. Daniel Hesskamp, Bob Hodge, her nephew and ER nurse, the staff on the medical floor, all of whom fought valiantly to give us a little more time with her, but respected her wishes to release her when her loving heart failed. Also to Navy nurse Heather Lyon, Anne's granddaughter, who on a visit saw the need for special foam boots to prevent diabetic heel ulcers; to Joni Walton, Carroll College nursing professor, who while leading students on an instructional tour of the hospital in the past, conferred with Anne and suggested medical devices that brought her much comfort there and at home; to Dr. Anthony Quebedeau, who successfully cured Anne's painful heel ulcers; and to Dr. Tracy Dill, her physician prior to his joining St. Peter's Hospital staff.
Anne is survived by her husband; children, Patti, John, and David Burke and Cindy and Dave Holcomb; grandchildren, Heather Lyon of Rota, Spain, Will and Amelia Lyon of Missoula, and James Burke of Coeur d' Alene; her sisters, Edie Wark of Stevensville, Marie and Norm DeBoer of Boardman, Ore., Helen Cushman of Cooperstown, N.D.; sisters-in-law, Vi and Edith Wark of the Bitterroot; brother, Charles and Libby Wark of Park City; and extended family and friends.
Cremation has taken place and a memorial service celebrating Anna's life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Retz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment of her cremated remains will be at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison at a later date.
Express condolences at www.legacy.com/HelenaIR.
Published in the Helena Independent Record on 11/1/2007.
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