Cecil "Dennis" Burke

Cecil Dennis Burke arrived at his heavenly home on Saturday, May 30, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. Dennis was born in McKinney, Texas on July 20, 1951. He passed away at his home in Bullard, Texas. He is preceded in death by his parents, Otis and Beatrice Burke. He is survived by his wife of almost 55 years, Jeannie Burke; son, Cody Burke and wife Monisha of Statham, GA; son, Kelly Burke of Riesel; brothers, Scotty Burke of Brock; and Ronny Burke and wife Alma of Crowley; aunt, Orpha Miller of Josephine; sisters-in-law Susie Estill of Arlington; Lori Spence of Crowley; and Linda Spence of Red Oak. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews; cousins, and an endless number of friends. He is also survived by his best little buddy, Bodie. He graduated from Everman High School in1969. Following graduation, he served in the Air Force Reserves until 1975. He attended Tarleton State University. An avid fisherman, he participated in many local tournaments and was a member of the Crowley Bass Club. Through that connection he went to work for Fin & Feather Sport Sales in Fort Worth in the mid 1980’s that began a career selling boats for over 40 years. In 1987, he was named one of the top ten salesmen in the nation for Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Marine. He also worked for Fun & Sun, Plano Marine, and Nautical Mile Marine, where he worked until July of last year. He enjoyed fishing, going to concerts, traveling, eating shrimp as often as he could, going to Ranger games, and spending time with his family. He really enjoyed his work selling boats, meeting new people, and “keeping East Texas fishing” as he would say. He was a proud Aggie Dad and enjoyed going to games and march ins. He was also a proud military Dad as Kelly served in the U.S. Navy, The family wishes to thank the many doctors and nurses who have cared for him these last years. We especially want to thank Dr. Alan Eli, Dr. Francis Ssali, and Dr. David Smith of Christus for their care. We also thank Dr. Jingdong Su at Texas Oncology for guiding us through this journey and for the wonderful staff of nurses and caregivers there. Finally, the family would like to thank the staff of Hospice of East Texas for their loving care during the last two weeks of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to Health Well Foundation (www.healthwellfoundation.org) who provided grants for him to receive the very expensive medicine he needed or Hospice of East Texas (www.hospiceofeasttexas.org).

Cecil "Dennis" Burke

July 20, 1951 - May 30, 2026