James Burke

James Burke, Jr. 88, of Vincennes, IN, passed away on Friday, February 1, 2019, at the Oak Village Nursing Home in Oaktown, IN, where he had been residing since May 2018.Jim was born on March 31, 1930 in Vincennes, IN, the son of James M. Burke and Hazel (Orndorff) Burke. He went to school in Vincennes and went onto serve in the U.S. Air Force from 1948 - 1952. He married Deloris Ann Wright of Vincennes, IN, on January 4, 1952 and recently celebrated 67 years of marriage.Jim worked at Prestolite Battery Factory in Vincennes for 21 years. While working at the battery factory he started Burke's Water Conditioning from his home, and went on to pioneer the first non-electric Kinetico Water Conditioning System in the Vincennes area for the next 24 years until 1993. He then obtained his real estate license and sold real estate in the Knox County area until he came across some property and a motel, which he purchased, and is now being run as Dee's Country Rentals and Efficiencies, for the past 24 years. His wife Deloris, and 3 sons, are currently managing and residing there.He was an active member of Vincennes First Church of the Nazarene for the past 54 years. He served as Sunday School teacher for over 40 years along with other duties such as board member, usher, greeter, visitation ministry and any other capacity that he was asked to do, leading to the honor of receiving the highest award given in the Nazarene church, "The Second Mile" award.Besides serving God and his church, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, especially at the local restaurants for coffee. He loved working in his garden and spending time outdoors. He also loved spending time and playing with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and taking them to breakfast at Denny's and ice cream at Dairy Queen.Jim is survived by his wife, Deloris (Wright) Burke of Vincennes; his children, Mike Burke, Tony Burke, J.D. Burke and his wife, Debbie, all of Vincennes, IN, Linda Burke of Gulf Port , FL, and Cathy Yoder and her husband, Matt of Lebanon, TN; 14 grandchildren; and 31 great-grandchildren.He is preceded in death by his parents; six brothers; two sisters; and one grandson, Jarod Burke.Friends may visit with Jim's family from 4:00 - 8:00 on Friday, at Goodwin Funeral Home. The funeral will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene at 19th and Main Streets in Vincennes, IN, on Saturday at 11:00. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Church of the Nazarene. Online condolences may be sent to the family through goodwinfamilyfh.com.