When Walter Burke was a young man, he took up a challenge with God. Father John Randell, a priest who ran a prayer meeting Walter attended in Providence, Rhode Island, said one day, “God will never be outdone in generosity.” “God,” Walter thought, “I’m going to outdo you. It’s on.” Decades later, Walter admits he lost that challenge and Fr. Randell was right. God’s patient, pursuing, unlimited love has been a refrain running constantly through Walter’s life. Born in 1951 to Walter and Anne Burke, Walter was one of 10: five boys and five girls. Poor in money, the Burkes were rich in their faith and generous with their love. Trust in Mary When Walter was five years old, he pushed his little sister out of the way of an oncoming bus and was hit himself. Walter spent several weeks in the intensive care unit, not expected to live. Even after he was moved to a regular hospital bed, the Burkes were told that their son would most likely never walk again. They commended little Walter to Our Lady and vowed to buy a grand statue of her if their son was healed. It was a widow’s-mite gesture, for the Burkes did not have money to spare. But they placed their trust in the Queen of Heaven, and she did not disappoint them. Walter made a full recovery, and the Burkes managed to buy a large and beautiful statue of Mary, which now stands in Walter’s own backyard. “Her protection,” he says, “has continued for my entire life.” Walter Burke, Sr., was a church organist, and the whole family loved music. For young Walter, singing provided special solace because he stuttered when he spoke, as did two of his siblings. But “you don’t stutter when you sing,” so when a sibling proposed, “Let’s sing!” one evening after family prayers, he happilyjoined in. Their father was struck by the beauty of the children’s voices and began volunteering them to perform By Marian Friedrichs 28 Marian Helper • Spring 2022 • marian.org Giving everything to the Lord, in song Karen and Walter Burke today. Anne Burke (right) greets Pope St. John Paul II. The Burke Family Singers’ first album, 1964: Walter is seated at right. Jimmy Durante was the emcee for the Burke Family Singers’ sold-out concert at the Boston Garden in 1962.
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