Mary Patricia (Hayden) Burke, Jan 17, 1926 – Dec 9, 2023 (97 years)

Biography

Pat passed away peacefully, knowing she was well loved, after a few weeks in palliative care at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, where she received the most compassionate care. She will be dearly missed by daughters Fran (Joe) and Amy (Larry) and many dear friends and ‘family of the heart’.

She always considered herself to be a very fortunate woman, to have had a long, happy and interesting life, surrounded by loving family and dear friends. Her passions included reading, music, theatre, art, and travel. A born teacher, she loved her career as an instructor at St. Clair College, where she developed a close-knit group of life-long friends who became part of her family. After retirement to Blenheim, Ontario, she found another community of great friends, enjoying exercise classes, long walks with coffee hour afterwards, movie nights and lively discussions on a range of topics.

When the pandemic hit, Pat lived with Amy and Larry in Woodstock, where she enjoyed watching the birds and the deer, and of course, reading a wide variety of fiction on her Kindle. She also lived most of the last 2 years in Burlington with Fran and Joe, where she loved to sit on the patio in the summer, eating fresh garden tomatoes and enjoying the sunshine, again with the ever-present Kindle! She was happy, healthy and well-cared-for, which contributed to her almost 98 years of a life well-lived.

Always compassionate, generous and concerned for others, especially the homeless, Pat would welcome donations made in her memory to The Downtown Mission of Windsor at https://www.downtownmission.com/ , the Chatham-Kent Salvation Army for the Blenheim food bank at https://www.cksalvationarmy.org/community-family-services/food-assistance/ or Doctors Without Borders at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/