Joan Florence Burke

Wife, Mother, Grandma, Companion Joan Burke had the long goodbye of Alzheimer’s and passed away on September 19, a few days short of what would have been hers and Art’s 65th wedding anniversary. Joan was born in Worchester MA to Paul and Florence Viscetto- the family lived in Worchester until Joan was 20, when they decided to make the move West to Southern CA . Music was a theme of Joan’s early life as she sang from a very young age, at Church and with her dad- at weddings and special events. Joan worked at the Telephone Company in Worchester then in Los Angeles. Her best friend at work set her up on a blind date with her husband’s best friend Art Burke- It worked out and they were married about 6 months later. Art and Joan settled in La Canada as Art was an engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had Kathy, Billy and Paul who attended La Canada schools- Joan and Art both had a passion for real estate- they both became licensed, and Joan went into the real estate business- She worked in Glendale for 20 years, where she earned a broker’s license, GRE, and several other designations. Joan was a proud member of BPW, Soroptimist International and very active with the Glendale Board of Realtors. When they retired to Palm Springs, she was a realtor in the desert until age 77, very active with the Desert Board and Soroptimist International of Desert Sunrise. The love for Music continued as a member of the St. Louis Catholic Church Choir and a local Choral group. Art passed away in 1995, and Joan stayed in the desert until 2013. On yet another blind date, she met John Bradley and they were constant companions until his death in 2010. We realized that mom was better off living near Paul and Kathy as she was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s and Joan moved to RSM in 2013 to be near her family. We were able to help mom stay active and involved until Alzheimer’s coupled with the Pandemic narrowed her options. We are so grateful to Pacific Shores Board and care, especially Alona, along with Tranquility Hospice, who helped Joan with her journey in hospice and transition to be with Our Lord Jesus Christ and all who went before her. Joan loved being a grandmother to Alex, Raleigh, Julie, Grayson, and Katie. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy and she loved each of them so much. She was able to share Alex and Raleigh with Art and all 5 with John Bradley. Despite her medical condition, Joan was able to enjoy life, especially the performances of her grandchildren and Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. She also loved Frank Sinatra and pre-internet she and her desert friends forgot more about Frank than any of us will ever know. She was a great lover of her pets. Her beloved cats are with Paul, and family dog Gunner passed a few days before she did and was there to greet her at the Rainbow Bridge. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Joan loved Lisa Francais, and Lucy Bradley who were like additional daughters. Please join us for a Celebration of Joan’s life at San Francisco Solano Catholic Church on October 22 at 10AM Light refreshments served afterwards. Due to Covid restrictions, we cannot have the party we would like to have, but we will all remember the good times together.