William Lee Burke

William Lee Burke

Aug. 20, 1933 - Sept. 21, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. -- William Lee Burke died Sept. 21, 2014, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of 81.

He was born Aug. 20, 1933, in McCook, Nebraska, to Len and Velma Burke. He graduated from Central High School in Omaha, Nebraska, and received his BA from Stanford University and his MA and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

He was on the speech and linguistics faculty of Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, for over 20 years.

A fine singer and performer, he was also in Broadway musicals with Mary Martin and Georgio Tozzi. He maintained a life-long interest in academics, history and scholarship, and was an active environmentalist.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by a son and daughter, Ben Burke of Plano, Texas, and Amanda Summers of Phoenix, Arizona, and four grandsons, Chase and Cody Summers and Evan and Andrew Burke. Private services will be at a later date in McCook, Nebraska.