Portrait shared in memory of William Thomas Burke

In loving memory of

William Thomas Burke

April 21, 1969

William Thomas Burke was a devoted husband and father in Parkton, NC — a life defined by family ties and the steady rhythms of small‑town living, remembered for the role he held at the center of his children’s early years.

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Remembering William

A life held close in memory

William Thomas Burke married Margie Velma (Scoggin) in 1949 and raised a family in the Parkton, North Carolina, area. Public records and contemporary accounts identify him as a husband and father of two children, the quiet center of a household in a rural community. Though the surviving public record about Thomas is limited, the basic facts show a life lived in family and place: marriage in 1949, parenting through the 1950s and 1960s, and residence in the Parkton area where neighbors and relatives would have recognized the rhythms of his daily life.

Accounts that discuss Thomas focus on his roles at home and within his family rather than public achievements; he was one of many working‑class men of his generation whose contributions were expressed through raising children and providing for family needs. Those who knew him would have seen a man shaped by long marriage and by the ordinary responsibilities of care, schooling, and community ties in a small North Carolina town.

On April 21, 1969, William Thomas Burke died of smoke inhalation after a house fire. He was 37. That date is the recorded death date found in multiple biographical summaries about his life. Public sources about the years that followed place his name alongside family remembrance and cemetery records noting his burial in the local area. Beyond these core facts, the public record is sparse: there is no published family obituary located that provides a fuller personal portrait, and available accounts concentrate on factual events rather than private reminiscences.

Though details are limited, it remains important to recognize that William Thomas Burke was first and foremost a family man whose life mattered to his children, relatives, and the Parkton community. This page honors him by centering those human bonds — marriage, fatherhood, and the ordinary habits of life — and by acknowledging the limits of what public records reveal while treating his memory with care and respect.

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He will be remembered with warmth and care. May his memory remain close in the hearts of all who loved and remember William.

Connor U.