Diane G. Burke

Diane Germann Burke

Diane G. Burke, 71, of West Liberty passed away from a ventricular hemorrhage on Sunday, December 8th, 2024 at Allegheny General Hospital.  Born Dec. 22, 1952 in Bergenfield, New Jersey, she was the daughter of John Germann and Annabel Pfister, both deceased.  

Diane earned a Bachelors Degree from Slippery Rock University in 1974, and it was there that she met her husband, Joseph Burke.  Both decided to give that first year to teaching Sioux Indian children at St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, SD.  She then, for twenty years, was employed as the manager of Butler Family Planning.  There she developed a network of friends and patients that continued to call her name out when seeing her in the community.  Diane then began employment with the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Center, where she used her talents to empower individuals in recovery, both in the community and in the Butler County Jail.  She retired from The Gaiser Center in 2012, to enjoy the fruits of her labor by having more time with family and to travel.  

Surviving are her husband, Joe, son, Sam, and grandson, Max.  Of her two siblings, Nancy Pfeiffer and John Germann, Nancy still survives and resides in Apex, NC.  Although her immediate family was small, they along with a large family of friends, colleagues, and the many clients that she had the opportunity to reach out to, made for a life full of loving rewards. 

Diane lived her life trying everyday to make the world a better place for her family, friends, and through her work, those strangers that she met everyday.  Some of us have had to learn, by knowing people like Diane, that kindness doesn't need to be a struggle.  For Diane, it came naturally.  She enjoyed not just helping people, but knowing them, and allowing them to know her.  As her family, she was the light of our life, and we will honor that by never forgetting who it was that lifted us up, and did it because it made her feel good. Good night sweet lady, we will love you forever!

It was Diane's wishes to not have a funeral, but rather to ask those who knew her to be kind to yourselves and those strangers that you meet. 

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