Birth date: Feb 5, 1940 Death date: Mar 21, 2015
John Driscoll Burckell passed away at his home on March 21, 2015. He was 75 years old. He is survived by his loving wife, Darleen, and children, Clifton, Otis and Kirsten, Andrew and Lisa, Ann, and Mary, and his beloved grandchild Read Obituary
One of my fondest memories with Uncle John consists of running down the suburban streets of Wilmington as we looked for the missing Gumbo that ran away for a bit. I loved discussing so many interesting topics with him - especially about his experiences all over the world through his occupation. He will be greatly missed and always in my thoughts. Thank you for always accepting and loving me, Uncle John.
Uncle John was such a wise man. He told you the greatest facts and most random stories. He was so funny and sweet. I remember when I was little my soccer ball went in the street and he told me, "Don't go into the busy street to get it. We can always get you a new soccer ball, but we cannot get a new Brookie Bear." Uncle John is now in a place I hope to be one day. I can't wait to see him again.
All my love and so much more,
Brooke.
From the moment I found out that John was sick, their was so many things I wanted to tell him. But it just never seemed like the right time. I thought I would have plenty of time to sit down and talk to him, but it seems as tho God had other plans.
I could tell when I first met John he cared for my sister very much, and that meant a lot to me. He always made me feel welcomed when ever I visited the family. I looked forward to every year when baseball season would come around. I cannot tell you how many games he took me to. And if the Mets had a 3 game weekend against the Phillies he would take me to everyone with a smile on his face. I once told him I felt so bad because he just got off of work and here he was changing clothes and sitting in traffic to get us to the stadium in time. He told me he looked forward to going, and they are some of the best memories I have of us together. The one thing I admired about him was to see how he combined "yours, mine, and ours" with his children and did it flawlessly. He treated all his children equally. A trait that is very hard to find in a man. When I went to sit with him a week before he passed in the hospital, he was sleeping when I went in. After a few minutes he woke up and looked at me and smiled. Before I could say anything he said hey Charleen how are YOU doing? And how are the kids doing? And I thought wow, here is this man in the hospital in pain and what is the first thing he thinks about is me and my family. That is who he was. Thinking of others before himself. You were taken away from us way too soon John, but we are better to have known you. I am sure right now he is teaching a lot of people in heaven about their family tree!!!!
We love you, The Boldens
It was a pleasure knowing and working with John when he was president of St. James Place #1 Homeowner's Association. I had such admiration/respect for him and enjoyed working with him. His dedication/intelligence/fairness/kindness and sense of humor were just a few of his many gifts to everyone and he will be greatly missed! He was so very devoted to his family, church and community. He is a Saint in heaven for certain! Darlene and family you will remain in my prayers and so very sorry for your loss!
I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Burckell and what a great Boilermaker he was. His son Otis is clearly an embodiment of John's passion for life and life long learning. We enjoy Otis' infectious personality daily and know that he is a great product of your legacy. The following was often said about John Purdue and I believe it might be said for Mr. Burckell too; "education was the flame that lit the world".
Fair winds and following seas...
My first memory of John is how he and Ronnie would compete for who could pull off sneaking the bill off the restaurant table or pulling the waitress aside on the way to the bathroom so they could pay for the meal!!
How appropriate that John died so closely to the Feast of St Joseph. I always admired how John not only joyfully took on children that weren't his own and became their dad in a way that no one could tell, but he also remained in the background. More than likely he was always the smartest person in the room but he let everyone else operate while he just watched and accommodated them. If you were lucky enough to pull him in for a conversation you had better buckle up because he had details you didn't know existed and information that seemed to be falling from an encyclopedia as he spoke. In short if you got on "Who wants to be a Millionaire" he was definitely going to be your "phone a friend"!!
Navy pilot, engineer with Saturn 5, experience in the oilfield, it just didn't seem possible. He had to be a quiet accountant or a government employee somewhere in the background of an office. He had life experiences that many could only dream of and yet his modesty and kindness were always first.
I'll miss our genealogy discussions and his example of fatherhood but they will not be forgotten. He gave until the end and he finished the race and if I had to guess he went in a way that he would have wanted to, quickly and in the background.
May God grant John eternal peace,
Mark Sanborn
