Professional singer and actress Jane Burke brightened the lives of those she knew with her cheerful personality, sense of humor and contralto singing voice.
“She had a rich full voice,” said her friend Amy Halloway. “With her acting ability she could really interpret the lyrics beautifully.”
Burke served as minister of music for many churches in Atlanta including Chamblee First United Methodist Church, Saint Mark United Methodist Church and McKendree United Methodist Church.
“As an actress she played very serious roles but yet she was a tremendous comedian, she had great comedy timing,” said Halloway.
“She made singing fun,” added her friend Mary Abbott Waite. “She wasn’t a director of music, she was a minister of music, she ministered and cared about everybody.”
Burke graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she was active in music and theater and was a staff singer for Church Street UMC. She was also a member of Actor’s Equity.
After moving to Atlanta in 1985, she found her calling while singing in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Atlanta Chamber Chorus with Robert Shaw.
She also served for 16 years as the director of the Festival Singers of Atlanta and often appeared in cabaret shows with Holloway and Larry Manning singing standard and Broadway music. “We called them ‘Better than Broadway’,” said Abbot Waite.
Abbot Waite remembers when Burke sang “I Know Where I’ve Been” at a Seasons of Love benefit for homeless children. The song was originally sung by Queen Latifah, and when Burke sang it, “She brought the house down,” Abbot Waite said.
Burke received her Master of Sacred Music degree with honors from Emory University in 1996. “She had a knack for picking beautiful music that made her choir very successful,” said Holloway.
Jane F. Burke, of Atlanta died Dec. 7 of cancer. She was 58. A memorial service will be held 3 p.m. Jan. 3 at Saint Mark United Methodist Church, 781 Peachtree Street, Atlanta.
“She was an incredible human being,” said Holloway. “She had the ability to let me be me regardless.”
She was that friend you could always go to to cry or sit with and laugh so hard until you cried, Holloway added.
In her free time Burke loved to drive. Born in Knoxville, she loved to go to the mountains and drive. “She wanted to see something beautiful every day,” said Abbot Waite.
Burke is survived by sister Susan Burke DeMonbrun and brother Pat Burke.
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