Joseph E. Burka, Sr.

Joseph E. Burka, Sr., age 91 of Lincoln Park, died on Friday, September 27, 2019 surrounded by his loving family.  He had lived in Lincoln Park since 1950.

Born in the Singac section of Little Falls, Joe grew up very near to the Russian Hall, where many of the community events took place.  He graduated from Passaic Valley High School and then went to Bloomfield Tech where he learned to be an electrician.  He started A & J Electric in 1950 as well as working for the IBEW Local 102 and was an electrician his entire life.  He continued working well into his 80’s and would have never stopped working if he could have had it his way.

Joe was an active member of the Lincoln Park Volunteer Fire Department for more than sixty-four years, first serving with Hose Company #2 before joining Company #1.  He had the patience of a saint and he took great pride in teaching everything he knew to new firefighters.  He was also an active member of the Lincoln Park Lions Club.

Joe was truly a family man at heart.  He came from a large family and after marrying Dolores (nee Scalza) on May 27, 1950, they set off to build a family of their own.  Raising eight children together was no easy task, but they did it and they did it well.  Family life was always an adventure in the Burka home, and Joe loved to take his family on long road trips which usually included a visit to a National Park or two.  Joe and Dolores have been to every State except for Hawaii, and their travels are too numerous to count.  They are “Diamond Members” with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, having enjoyed more than a dozen cruises and they’ve cruised all over the place.  As Joe’s family grew to eventually include twenty grandchildren, he would plan special trips for the grandkids to destinations in the American west.  National Parks were always on the agenda, and almost all of his grandchildren have ridden the Durango & Silverton Railroad in Colorado!  He made sure that they all had a taste of what life had to offer, and he had great fun spending all that time with his family.  Perhaps one of the most memorable stories that came out of all their trips, was in 2003 when they went to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Dolores’ name was added to the “Terrorist” list!  As Joe and Dolores were entering and went through the metal detectors, an alert sounded and Dolores was apprehended.  It turned out that she had a tiny pocket knife in her purse, as any well-prepared seamstress and mother of eight should have.  But since the events of 9/11 were still very fresh in everyone’s mind, the authorities took the whole incident far out of proportion.  It may not have been so funny at the time, but it makes for good laughs now!  Joe’s children also recall great times spending weekends in the Catskills, sleigh riding on the area golf courses on their enormous Flexible Flyer, and hosting large gatherings at their home on Terrace Parkway in Lincoln Park.  Joe has left them all with wonderful and fond memories to cherish for all of their days.

Joe is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-nine years; Dolores, eight children; Joanne Palumbo and her husband John of Cortlandt Manor, NY, Joseph Burka, Jr. and his wife Karen of Brant Lake, NY, Eileen Leech of Lincoln Park, NJ, Donna Wild of Loveland, CO, Philip Burka of Butler, NJ, Annemarie Locilento of Mt. Bethel, PA, Dolores (Lori) Molinaro and her husband Nicholas of Riverdale, NJ, and James Burka of Lincoln Park, NJ, twenty grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren (and another on the way), and one great-great-grandchild.

For those wishing to make a donation in lieu of flowers in Joe’s memory, please consider the Lincoln Park Fire Department, 20 Boonton Tpk, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035, or Lincoln Park First Aid Squad, 34 Chapel Hill Rd., P.O. Box 332, Lincoln Park, 07035, or the Lincoln Park Lions Club, P.O. Box 501, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035.