THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220305
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 43 lines
Mary Blanche Burke, 83, of the 1900 block of Oliver Ave., died Aug. 18, 1996, in a local medical center.
Mrs. Burke was born in Norfolk County. She was the seventh child of 13 children born to the late Willie James and Matilda Corprew, and the widow of the late Richard Nathaniel Burke.
Mrs. Burke retired from the Chesapeake Public School System on June 10, 1978, after 43 years of teaching. She received her early education in Norfolk County schools and graduated from Norcom High School in Portsmouth. She received her B.A. degree from State Teachers College, Elizabeth City, N.C., and received her master of arts degree in administration and supervision from New York University.
Her first teaching position was at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, Norfolk County, in 1946. She taught at Providence Elementary School in South Norfolk and was visiting teacher with the South Norfolk School Division. At the time of her retirement, she was teaching eighth-grade English at Indian River Junior High School, Chesapeake.
In 1949, Mrs. Burke received a Certificate of Merit for exemplary service as a GRA-Y sponsor in ``Y'' activities. She was a member of the Virginia Retired Teachers Association and a lifelong member of the Little Zion Baptist Church, Chesapeake. She served on many community and civic boards in the Tidewater area.
Survivors include four nieces, Ms. Gwendolyn C. Stewart of Baltimore, Md., Mrs. Carolyn C. Dunston of East Orange, N.J., Ms. Talya T. Corprew of Alexandria, Va., and attorney Barbara A. Corprew of Washington, D.C.; three nephews, Therman T. Corprew Jr. of Chesapeake, William Tyrone Lewis of Bethlehem, Pa., and M. Kenneth Corprew of Washington, D.C.; three sisters-in-law, Dr. Mary C. Corprew of Chesapeake, Mrs. Daisy Corprew of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Anabelle Corprew of El Paso, Texas; two stepchildren, Garland Burke of Norfolk, and Mrs. Doris Burke Walker of Upper Marlboro, Md.; and many other relatives and friends.
The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday in Little Zion Baptist Church, Great Bridge. Burial will be in Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery. Fitchett Funeral Home is directing the services. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB