June 16, 2011
FBA member C. Thomas Burke died on May 24, 2011 at age 77. He served in the administrations of five presidents (Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and G.H.W. Bush) and was honored by numerous foreign governments for his work in developing mutual understanding and world peace initiatives. He received diplomatic training at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C., and was an active member of the American Foreign Service Association. Burke served as president, CEO, and executive director of a number of the nation’s largest port authorities; he started his career in the maritime industry as assistant director of port commerce for the Port of New York/New Jersey. He also spent 10 years with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, now the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Born Aug. 30, 1933, Burke was a graduate of Christian Brothers Military Academy in Albany, N.Y., where he received the “Outstanding Alumni Award” in 2008; Northeastern University, where he was honored with the “Outstanding Alumni Award” in 1995; and Blackstone School of Law, Chicago, Ill. He was a Fellow of the Foundation of the FBA and an FBA Vice President for the Fourth Circuit, as well as chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Transportation Committee. Burke was an associate professor at the International Maritime Institute at Old Dominion University and the School of Continuing Education at the University of Richmond. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ross, as well as her daughter, his five children and their spouses, and 13 grandchildren. Burke’s first wife—Joanne, the mother of his five children—predeceased him in 1986.