Neil Anthony Burke of Swampscott died peacefully on Friday, October 2, 2026. He was 87.
He was born in Lynn on May 7, 1939, the son of Florence and Harold “Babe” Burke, grew up in Swampscott and graduated from St. John’s Prep in Danvers in 1957. He made lifelong friends at the College of the Holy Cross, finished his bachelor’s degree at Suffolk University and served in the Air National Guard. His career took him to IBM, the Massachusetts State House and NYNEX, and in retirement he gave his time to helping others; people who knew him called him a friend to all. He and his former wife of 22 years, Catherine McDowell, raised their family in Marblehead, with summers at The Beach Club and a Christmas Eve party that became an institution. He raced sailboats, golfed at Salem Country Club and delivered bagels to his family before most of them were awake.
He leaves Catherine McDowell; his children, Patricia Pederson and her husband Neal Kalechofsky, Catherine Carangelo and her husband Robert, and Neil A. Burke Jr. and his wife Tracey; seven grandchildren, Benjamin Pederson, Tatum Garner and her husband Brendan, Margaret, Robert and William Carangelo, and Connor and Tyler Burke; a great-granddaughter, Hadley Garner; his sister, Elaine Burke, and her husband John; and his nephews, John Burke and his wife Lori and Matthew Burke and his wife Julie.
A funeral Mass is Saturday, October 10 at 11:15 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, Swampscott, with private burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Lynn. Arrangements are by the Solimine Funeral Home, Lynn.
Compiled from information published by Solimine Funeral Homes. Photograph courtesy of the family via Solimine Funeral Homes. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
