Sandra Burke Obituary

Sandra Lee Burke, 69, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 23, at the Pat Roche Hospice Home in Hingham following a brief illness. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Sandy, as she was known to friends, was born on July 30, 1952 to Elmer and Evelyn Gorham. The family initially settled on Rice Avenue in Rockland before moving to their longtime home on Forest Street in Marshfield.
From an early age, Sandra felt a calling to serve others. She decided to become a teacher before her graduation from Marshfield High School in 1970. She was particularly proud of her participation in an anti-war demonstration at the school on May 11 of that same year. She went on to graduate from Boston State College in 1974 and spent over a decade as a teacher in the Marshfield school system, until forced into retirement by illness.
Sandy had a real passion for educating children. She loved traveling and foreign cultures, poetry, art and classic literature. She loved the music of The Beatles, John Denver, Cat Stevens and James Taylor. She loved nature, the beach, birds and flowers, especially her favorite, yellow lilies, and she tended her garden right up until her final days.
Sandra especially lived for her friends and family, and they will always remember her selflessness, care and insuppressible laugh that often left her in tears. If Sandy was your friend, you had a friend for life. She loved to send cards and shop for gifts for her loved ones and many were found in her home after she passed, ready to be gifted.
Her greatest joy in life was being a grandmother. Known as "BB" to her grandchildren, she covered the walls of her Pembroke home in their artwork. Always concerned about the needs of others, she was always checking to see if those in her charge had "eaten enough" or needed something.
Sandra was predeceased by both parents, Elmer and Evelyn Gorham. She is survived by her brother Bruce and his wife Cathy Gorham; Sandra's two children, Stephanie Lee Smith of Marshfield, and Matthew Burke of Japan, Stephanie's husband Gerard Smith III, also of Marshfield, Matthew's wife, Naoko Takahashi Burke, also of Japan, and three grandchildren, Genki and Gakuto Burke of Japan, and Gerard Smith IV of Marshfield.
A wake is planned on Thursday, June 16, 2022 from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the MacDonald Funeral Home at 1755 Ocean Street in Marshfield. Burial will follow in the Couch Memorial Cemetery, also in Marshfield.
For online guest book, driving directions and other helpful information please visit the website macdonaldfuneralhome.com