Peter F. Burke

Peter Francis Burke arrived in the world on August 23, 1945, the youngest son of John and Wilhelmina Burke of Gretna.

Pete graduated from Gretna High School in 1963 and enlisted in the Navy as a ship mechanic in 1965. During his service, he saw the sights of England, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, and Vatican City. After the Navy, he returned to Gretna in 1969.

He met his wife, Judy, at Linoma Beach on April 28, 1972, marrying exactly a year later. His first child, Amy arrived in 1975, followed by Patrick in 1979 and Kevin in 1981.

A lifelong tinkerer, Pete was always fascinated by how things worked. He continued his mechanical career by opening an auto repair shop with his brother Jerry. In 1975, Pete and Judy moved to Wolbach to fulfill his dream of having his own farm. In 1988, Pete and family returned to Gretna to live the acreage life while he served as a mechanic in Bennington, Gretna and Omaha before retiring in 2013.

In his spare time, Pete enjoyed watching Husker football and the Chicago Bears, solving Sudoku puzzles, dabbling in home brewing and devising redneck engineering solutions to household problems. Most of all, he cherished time spent with his grandsons Flynn and Collin.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents John and Wilhelmina, brothers Gerard (Jerry) and John, infant sister Regina, and nephews Mike and Vince.

Survived by his wife, Judy; daughter Amy, sons Patrick (Angie) and Kevin, and grandsons Flynn and Collin; siblings: Dr. Joe Burke, Mary Lyons, Anne (Marvin) Souchek; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, other loving family & friends.