Mary Theresa Burke, Associate was a member of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York since May 3, 1998 when she took her Associate Commitment until her passing on July 18, 2013.
Mary was born in NYC, the eldest of four children. Her aunt was Sr. Sabina Burke, a member of the Blauvelt Congregation.
After graduating St. Jean Baptiste High School she was a proofreader for Hearst Publications, a personnel assistant with Blue Cross, a secretarial assistant to the President of the Sisters of Charity, an assistant supervisor at St. Vincent's Hospital, a business teacher at Grace Institute, and assistant registrar at the College of Mt. St. Vincent.
Mary entered the Sisters of Charity at Mt. St. Vincent where she completed her B.A. degree at the College of Mt. St. Vincent and studied at Fordham University School of Social Work. She took a leave of absence from the Charities and made a final separation in 1988. She then cared for her father and his two sisters who were ill. Upon their deaths she volunteered at her parish and the Catholic Center which houses the administrative offices of the Archdiocese of NY. She was a certified religious educator in the Archdiocese and an adjunct in the Catechetical Office assisting with special projects. While not working a 9 to 5 job, her life was very active, helping her family her parish church and her extended Church. She had lived in the Inwood section of Manhattan and recently in Riverdale in the Bronx. Mary volunteered at Siena House doing filing and sitting in the nursery. Visits were made to Blauvelt to see Sr. Timothy and Sr. Norberta who was a close friend of her aunt Sr. Sabina. She sought an added spiritual dimension to her life and a deeper loving relationship with the sisters and joined the Associate Program in 1998. She wanted to bring the Dominican spirit to people she met in her everyday life. She often visited the sisters in the Infirmary. Mary enjoyed music, reading and history. She was the sister of Catherine, Anthony, and the late Michael. Mass of Christian burial was held on July 22 at St. Gabriel's Church in the Bronx.