Albert V. Burke

Dr. Albert V. Burke Dies at 89

          Dr. Albert V. Burke, M.D., who conducted a family medical practice in Norwalk for 42 years until retirement in 2000, died Friday night (11/17) at his East Norwalk home. The husband of Norma Carlson Burke, R.N., was 89.

          Death was due to an incurable cancer, according to his family. He had proven invincible against the disease in its various forms during a 22-year stretch in which he was assailed by four separate cancer tumors, any one of which could have been fatal. 

          Dr. Burke held several important positions in the Norwalk medical community, one of the most prominent being chief of staff to the 350 physicians with privileges at Norwalk Hospital.  He was elected to the post in 1986 by them and held it for six years, until 1992.  He had previously been elected assistance chief of staff for four years.

         As chief he was responsible for reviewing the case reports of all physicians.  He was also encouraged to move hospital practices forward.  This he did by strengthening the physician credentialing system and forming a Task Force that led to the integration of the cancer services, which ultimately became the Whittingham Cancer Center. 

         Dr. Burke served two three-year stints as chairman of the hospital’s family practice department.  For these and other accomplishments, he received the William J. Tracey, M.D., Award during the Norwalk Hospital Foundation gala in 2001.  He had kept pace with medical developments by gaining certification in 1954 from the National Board of Medical Examiners, in 1976 from the American Academy of Family Practice and in 1977, 1984 and 1990 from the American Board of Family Practice.

          He also served 36 years as physician to the Norwalk Police Department and had been elected president of the Norwalk Medical Society in 1971.  He was installed on the Norwalk High School Alumni Association Wall of Honor in 2006 and had eventually become chairman of its selection committee.

          A resident of Norwalk since 1934, Dr. Burke was raised at 8 Vincent Place in the Rowayton section.  He was a member of the first class to graduate from the Rowayton School after it opened in 1940 at Wilson and Roton Avenues. That class numbered 20 pupils, only four of them boys.

           A well-rounded young man, Dr. Burke took part in school and community activities ranging from the mental to the physical.  He can be seen in his Norwalk High School yearbook picture of the 1945 NHS county championship football team.  He was elected to the Norwalk High School Honor Society in 1946 before heading off to Georgetown University, where he completed a post-World War II accelerated program in three years.  He earned a medical school degree from the same institution.

           After becoming a U.S. Navy lieutenant, he completed an internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Newport, R.I., after which he was assigned to a U.S. Marine unit in Korea. He began his Norwalk practice after a two-year residency at Hartford Hospital, where he met his wife-to-be.

            Long after he had retired professionally, Dr. Burke was still volunteering his time and energy. He was serving every Saturday morning as the volunteer physician at the Americares Free Clinic in South Norwalk.  He had also been serving every Friday at the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry sponsored by St. Thomas the Apostle Church.

            Dr. Burke was the son of Albert V. and Gertrude Masterson Burke.  His father was the treasurer of Western Union. 

            Also surviving are six children: attorney Thomas A. Burke of Binghamton, N.Y.; attorney Andrew J. Burke of Raleigh, N.C.; Sarah E. Burke, R.N., of Danbury; Allyson B. Reiter of Annapolis, Maryland; attorney John M. Burke of Chicago; Maura B. Murchake of Norfolk, Va.; 11 grandchildren and a sister, Elizabeth Dearani of Fitzwilliam, N.H.  He was predeceased by another sister, Katherine Antonez.

             A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday in St. Thomas the Apostle Church.  Interment will be in St. John Cemetery, Richards Avenue. The Burke family kindly requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry operated at and c/o, St. Thomas the Apostle Church 203 East Ave Norwalk, CT 06855.

            Friends may call at the Magner Funeral Home, 12 Mott Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. 

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