George Burke Mims

Burke was born and raised in Portland. He graduated from Central Catholic High School where he was part of the 1950 tennis team that was inducted into the Central Catholic hall of fame and the only team to ever win a state championship. Burke attended the University of Portland on a tennis scholarship and was part of the 1952-56 men's tennis team. The team won 79 straight matches for three consecutive seasons. In 1995 the team was inducted into the UP hall of fame.

After college he married Sheila Cameron and served in the United States Air Force which took them to England for four years where they started their family. When they returned to Portland he began his career in accounting. He started with the IRS and after getting his masters degree went on to work at several national accounting firms before becoming a founding partner of Nygaard, Mims and Hoffman in 1979. He spent most of his career working in the Portland area with the exception of three years when he worked in Sacramento, Calif., at Main Hurdman.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sheila; their six children, Shauna (Mike), Kevin (Julie), Brenda (Jim), Cynthia (Frank), Margery (Andrew) and Steven (Kim); 12 grandchildren, Matthew, Trevor, Mallory, Emily, Cameron (Jamie), Aidan, AJ, Morgan, Marlee, Taylor, Allison and Caden; and two great-grandchildren, Taylor and Evan. He is also survived by his brother, Ronald; and sister, Mary Ellen.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Paloma Mims; his brother, Forrest; and his son, Bradley Joseph.

Burke enjoyed playing poker with a group of lifelong friends, fantasy football, watching Portland Trailblazers and Mariner games. He was a great man who lived his life with integrity and honor in all he did. His greatest joy was spending time with family.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Oregon at: alz.org/oregon