John Burke

John David Burke, age 66 of Crofton, Nebraska died on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, SD after a short battle with cancer.

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, August 14, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Constance, Nebraska with the Rev. Eliot Schwer officiating. Burial will be at St. Frances Cemetery in Randolph, NE. The family will receive relatives and friends one hour prior to services at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz Funeral Home in Crofton.

John David was born on March 1, 1960 in Osmond, Nebraska to John David and Rosemary Rita (O’Connor) Burke Sr. He grew up on a farm southwest of Coleridge and went to Elementary School in Coleridge. John graduated from Cedar Catholic High School in Hartington in 1978. He attended Northeast Technical Community College in Norfolk studying diesel mechanics. John entered the Hardee’s Restaurant management program working in Norfolk and Fremont. He then joined the Navy, studying Nuclear Power. He began driving trucks for Bill Stevens’ harvest crew and transitioned to over-the-road trucking for the remainder of his work life. John lived in western South Dakota before settling in the Crofton area. Because of a health disability, he stopped trucking in 2012.

John attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and loved to walk his dog O’Reilly. While in High School he participated in band and drama, and once received the conference “Outstanding Actor” in the One-Act Play production of Hope is a Thing With Feathers.

John is survived by his five siblings – Gerald (Mary) Burke of Omaha, Mary (Clair) Guthrie of Lincoln, and Angela Burke of Lincoln, James (Trisha) Burke of Elkhorn, and Joseph Burke of Lincoln; 12 nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents John and Rosemary Burke; a brother Martin on September of 2025; a sister Eileen Burke in 2017.