Saying
goodbye to Bobbye Burke, archivist of Old St. Joseph’s
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
When it came to historical facts, especially regarding Old St. Joseph’s
Church or Philadelphia’s early Catholic history, Bobbye Burke most
likely had the answer.
As the archivist of Old St. Joseph’s, she brought to life the characters
and stories that molded the vibrant Catholic faith of today.
Burke died of complications from heart surgery on Friday, April 18, 2008
at Hahnemann University Hospital. She was 79 years old.
“She loved, with great fidelity, the Church, particularly this church,
Old St. Joseph’s. She loved to tell our story of how God speaks
to His people — God as the source of all life and good gifts,”
said Jesuit Father Mark Horak, the pastor of Old St. Joseph’s, during
Burke’s Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, April 23.
The church was filled with family and friends who came to say goodbye
to a woman they called “vibrant and passionate.”
“She was full of love for Philadelphia, especially it’s history,
because it gives us a sense of where we have come from and who we are
today,” Father Horak said.
For the parish’s 275th anniversary this year, Burke had written
a series for the church bulletin, highlighting interesting facts about
its history. She founded the Old St. Joseph’s Historic Preservation
Corp., and in 2005 she discovered a Bible that had belonged to Jesuit
Father Joseph Greaton — the priest who, in 1733, established
the church as Pennsylvania’s first Catholic worship site.
Burke’s family lived in various parts of Oklahoma and Mississippi
early in her life. After she settled in Center City Philadelphia in 1956,
she never left.
She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history
from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in theology
from Villanova University. She went on to teach art history at the Community
College of Philadelphia for 17 years.
She was the first woman elected president of the Center City Resident’s
Association in 1972. The association dates to 1947, when it was founded
to stop Rittenhouse Square from being dug up for an underground parking
lot. Under Burke, it continued to safeguard the quality of life for city
residents.
Her accomplishments as a civic leader include the planting of hundreds
of trees in Center City, the establishment of the Albert M. Greenfield
School on Chestnut Street — it was the first public school to be
built in the area in decades — and helping to create the Rittenhouse-Fitler
Historic District.
In 1985, Burke also co-authored “In Historic Rittenhouse: A Philadelphia
Neighborhood” with Otto Sperr, Hugh J. McCauley and Trina Vaux.
“She wa a wonderful role model for women showing that community
involvement is an important part of giving back to your family,”
said her daughter Monika Starcevic.
She is also survived by her son-in-law Kresimir Starcevic; grandchildren
Sophie and Anton; her former husband, Joseph A. Burke, and brother, E.
Carleton James.
“We pray that the saints of Old St. Joseph’s lead her into
paradise,” Father Horak said. “Knowing Bobbye, by the time
they get there, she’ll be leading them into the fullness of life.”
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith may be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.
Father William Cox, pastor emeritus
of St. Peter, Honey Brook, dies at 78
Father William J. Cox, pastor emeritus of St. Peter Parish in Honey Brook,
died Friday, April 25, 2008 at Holy Redeemer Hospital. He was 78.
A native of Philadelphia, Father Cox was ordained a priest May 10, 1956
at Immaculate Conception Church in Philadelphia by Archbishop John F.
O’Hara.
He was appointed pastor of St. Peter Parish in 1991 and named pastor emeritus
there in 2003.
Cardinal Justin Rigali was scheduled to celebrate Father Cox’s funeral
Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 30 at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in
Warrington.
Interment was to be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Msgr.
Jerome Duraczynski dies at 91
Msgr. Jerome A. Duraczynski, a retired priest of the Diocese of Sioux
Falls, S.D., who assisted in various parishes in the Norristown area,
died Thursday, April 17, 2008. He was 91.
A native of Conshohocken, Msgr. Duraczynski was born March 17, 1917. He
was ordained for the Diocese of Sioux Falls in May 1942 at the Cathedral
of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia by Cardinal Dennis Dougherty
A viewing and funeral Mass was held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in
Norristown on April 26.
Interment was at St. Benedict Cemetery on the grounds of St. Mary Parish,
Conshohocken.