Timothy “Tim” John Burke, husband, father, brother, son and friend went peacefully in his sleep to be with Jesus on January 28th. Tim was born on September 8, 1964 in Arcadia California to Martin and Janis Burke.
When he was 5 years old, his parents moved their young family to Redondo Beach, California. With the Pacific Ocean as his backyard, Tim became an avid surfer. He loved surfing and always said he had the grades to prove it! Marty and Janis provided a great childhood for the Burke boys. As a young boy, Tim played baseball, soccer, and of course, surfed. Tim lived an amazing life and loved growing up on the beach in the 80’s. The lifelong friendships that he had from his childhood were so special to him. Whether he was working at Village Spirits(the liquor store), playing drums in the band Joe Nobody, or putting on huge parties with his friend Matt, Tim didn’t do anything halfway.
After a few years of trying to figure out what he wanted to do after High school, he ended up at the College of Idaho. He loved his time there. He was always a person of deep, spiritual faith, and really begin walking with the Lord during his college days, again making many friends. Tim didn’t have a superficial bone in his body, what you saw was who he was. He wasn’t a man of small talk, but deep intentional conversations, and relationships. After college Tim went on an outreach to Europe, playing drums in a band with Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Eventually, he returned to Idaho, bought a house, and decided to make Boise his home. So he got a haircut and went to work for Oppenheimer Companies. He was really grateful for the opportunity and for all that he learned there.
Soon after that, while getting another haircut, the gal cutting his hair, told him about a girl named Mary, that she thought was a perfect match for him. After a couple more haircuts, he decided to give Mary a call and they went on a blind date to the Trolley for breakfast. He said a breakfast date was much safer than a dinner date! Mary showed up 20 minutes late and thankfully he had waited. They hit it off and became great friends. It didn’t take too long to discover that they had fallen in love and wanted to get married. They got married on December 22, 1990, the coldest day in the history of Idaho. Not long after they started their family, which are Tim and Mary’s, pride and joy.
With a two year old and an infant, Tim decided that he wanted to start his own company, so Treasure Valley Sales and Marketing was born. It was very important to Tim that he honored his two-year noncompete clause with Oppenheimer, which made for some lean times for the family. But God honored that decision and blessed Tim’s business for many years to come. Tim was a true visionary and had the ability to create something out of nothing. One of his favorite things about business was working with so many wonderful people. After 10 years of building the business, he sold it to a private equity group and was able to spend some much deserved quality time with his family. Tim was available to his kids during many pivotal years of their lives, which was such a blessing to our family. During that time he also was able to pursue many different ministry opportunities.
Tim first and foremost, loved the Lord, and he considered it such a privilege to be involved with the different things God called him to be a part of. Tim lived a very full life. As a family, we spent countless hours, surfing and skiing behind the boat in McCall. He was famous for his “buoy run,” loved spending time at North Beach with a cold Coors light in his hand and in the winter, he loved ripping down the hill at Brundage and meeting up with friends and family in the parking lot to tailgate. Tim was a person who brought the party wherever he went. He loved to travel, go out to eat with friends, drive his Shelby Mustang, play on the Angel’s city league soccer team (and drink beer with the boys afterward), play the drums and listen to music at a very high volume! All of these things brought him so much joy, but nothing compared to the joy his kids and his new little grandson, Caden brought him.
Tim was diagnosed with MSA a few years ago and was to a point where he couldn’t do the things that he loved to do anymore, but he continued to be a positive influence and a hero to his family through his struggles. Always making sure that his family was taken care of, and doing whatever he could to make things easier on us. We miss him deeply, but are so happy that he is finally home, and no longer suffering. He always said he was just going to heaven a little sooner than expected, but that he would pick out a good place for us. We are so thankful for God’s grace, peace and strength that has sustained us through this season, and know we will be together again someday.
Tim, life with you was an adventure that I will forever be so thankful for.
Tim is survived and missed by his wife, Mary; his son, Matthew and his wife, Amy, and his grandson Caden; his daughter, Grace and her husband, Jonathan; his sons JP and Thomas; his parents Marty and Janis Burke; his brother, Marty, and his wife, Rhonda; his brother Steven and his wife, Julia; his mother-in-law, Edwina Lysinger; his sister-in-law, Nancy Lysinger, and of course, his precious dogs, George, Leo, and Daisy.
Services will be held on Saturday, February 24th at 11 AM at Eagle church of the Nazarene 1001 W. State Street in Eagle.
If you would like to donate to a charity in Tim’s honor, one of his favorites was Compassion International. You can either make a one time donation or sponsor a child.