Writings & Remarks

In Memoriam: Former Trustee Gilman Burke ’54

December 27, 2024

Tags In Memoriam

In an email to the Hamilton community on Dec. 27, President Steven Tepper shared news of the passing of former trustee Gilman Burke ’54.

As you and your families gather to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and the start of a new year, I ask that you remember the Burke family as they mourn the death of Gilman Burke, a member of the Hamilton Class of 1954 and a former trustee. He died peacefully Christmas night at the age of 92.
 
While at Hamilton, Gil majored in English literature and was a member of Chi Psi and the men’s soccer team. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps before receiving his Bachelor of Laws from Harvard University in 1960. He subsequently served as managing partner for Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke, a New York law firm specialized in banking, corporate, and environmental law. Gil, who was committed to political and environmental causes, represented foreign banks seeking to establish offices in the United States. He was involved in the founding of the West Side Montessori School in Manhattan and, consistent with his support for the environment, the National Resources Defense Council, the Open Space Institute, and related organizations.

His sister, Kate Wood, described him as a kind, very good man, who was “as respected as anyone I’ve ever known.” Sarah, his wife of 14 years, said he was someone with no enemies, a wonderful person, and a friend to many. And his son, Dana, said “Gil's talents, experiences, and interests are too many to list. … He developed a mid-sized family practice into an internationally respected firm staffed by attorneys from diverse backgrounds. In Garrison, New York, where he became an unofficial mayor and community leader, he bought, improved, and re-sold several beautiful properties, always with an eye toward protecting rural beauty and maintaining open space between parcels.” 

Dana said “Gil loved tennis, golf, pond hockey, and fly fishing. He travelled the world, and in his later years was lucky to do so with his second wife, Sarah. He enjoyed friends, family, music, and the theatre. To the end, he loved driving his Ford tractor and brush-cutting local fields while keeping the tractor (mostly) upright! Wherever he went he showed respect, which is why others cared so much for him.”
 
Gil was a member of a distinguished Hamilton family that included his father Jim Burke ’25; uncle Coley Burke ’34, P’61, GP’89, ’91, ’93, ’94; and cousins Dan Burke ’61, P’89, ’91, ’94; Coley Burke ’63, P’93; Missy Partridge P’94; and Dan Burke ’88, P’24. Gil's first cousin Molly (Harding) Nye was the mother of John Nye ’87 and Dan Nye ’88, a current member of the board.
 
Sadly, the family lost Missy and Dan earlier this year and, even more recently, Molly Harding. Gil and Missy’s grandfather, Daniel Burke, for whom the Burke Library is named, was a member of the Class of 1893 and served as a trustee for more than half a century, including 11 years as chair.
 
Gil is survived by his wife, Sarah; daughter Molly, a doctor in San Francisco; son Dana, a senior assistant attorney general in Anchorage; and stepsons Nicholas Bayne and Peter Bayne. Another son, Nathaniel, died in 2023 and his first wife, Sal, died in 2008. Condolences and expressions of sympathy will reach the family in care of Sarah at 854 Route 9D, Garrison, N.Y., 10524. I’m sure the family would welcome hearing from you as they mourn Gil’s death during the holiday season.
 
Best wishes for the new year.
 
Steven

(Photo: Gilman Burke ’54 with his sister Kate Burke Wood in October 2024.)