Mary (Mullen) Burke, 90, of Milton, died at Boston Medical Center on Nov. 2 after a brief illness.
Born in Bridgeport, Conn., she was a longtime resident of Milton. A 1936 graduate of Milton High School, she graduated from Regis College and received a master’s degree from Boston University.
Mrs. Burke was one of the first women to enlist in the Navy WAVE Program at the start of World War II. She was commissioned as an officer by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Her military history was featured in a 2005 story in the Milton Times that was part of a series recognizing the 60th anniversary of the war’s end. At the time, she shared these thoughts on her unique military career: “What we did, and this is the most important thing that I’ve lived with all these years, is those of us in the early days set a good enough example that, three or four years after the war ended, they made women a part of the service. They became accepted just like other people in the service. I think [it was because of] the fact that we did what we did, and we did it well. …I was sort of a pioneer. And I do feel that we made a contribution that way, besides doing the work of the hands and the mind. We did that. But in the long run it was allowing people to decide that having women in the service was a good thing.”
Mrs. Burke was a high school guidance counselor at Archbishop Williams High School from 1963 until her retirement in 2001. She was also active in the Milton Red Cross and was its chairwoman until it merged with the Quincy chapter.
Wife of the late Richard H. Burke, she is survived by her children, Richard S. Burke and his wife, Susan, of Milton, Gregory L. Burke and his wife, Nancy, of North Quincy, Marine Corps Col. Paul V. Burke and his wife, Jane, of New Jersey, and Robert G. Burke, of Milton; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in St. Agatha Church on Nov. 6. Burial was in the VA National Cemetery, Bourne.
Donations may be made to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC-Development Department), 99 Summer St., 6th floor, Boston, MA 02110.
Arrangements were by the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home.