Duane Lee Burk

Duane was born in Iowa City, IA on September 7 to Ivan and Edra (Garten) Burk. He attended schools in Missouri, Walnut, and Lewis Iowa.

He joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. While in Japan, he climbed Mt. Fuji. He was a proud Marine and felt it was a privilege to serve. He said the Marine Corps gave him the skills, strength and grit to endure the life which God set forth for him.

After returning to the states, he worked for Henningsen’s Construction and later started his own business, Midwest Erectors, Burk Bros. Construction, and Burk Steel. He was especially proud of four hangars he erected at the San Antonio Airport. A Boeing 747 and 737 could be towed together side by side into one hangar.

On May 21, 1960, he was united in marriage to Mary Rattenborg at Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic, Iowa. The couple lived in Atlantic and moved to Austin, Texas in 1982. They loved Austin and later moved to Jonestown, Texas where Duane built a home known as “The Hill” on Mountain Top Circle with a beautiful view of the Texas Hill Country. Duane and his family shared many wonderful birthdays and holidays at the hill. His granddaughter, Katie, was married there in 2016. He made many friends on the hilltop and enjoyed Friday night poker games with his neighbors and friends.

Duane loved his family and was the best grandpa (gramps). He always said his favorite word was “Dad” and “Grandpa”. He bought go-carts for all the kids, taught them how to drive a car and tractor and spent quality time with all of them.

Duane and Mary enjoyed traveling together, including a trip to Washington, DC with the two oldest grandkids, Katie and Jacob. They spent two months traveling in their motor home through Oregon, Washington, and California. Duane drove down the Pacific Coast Hwy. in the motorhome with a Cadillac in tow. Their favorite city was San Francisco. He also made numerous trips to the Daytona 500 and Las Vegas. He loved the Burk family reunions at Table Rock Lake in Missouri. The reunions began in the early 1980’s and the last one he attended was in August 2021. He enjoyed playing poker with his brothers and extended family. Duane was very special to many family members.

Duane is survived by his wife, Mary Burk, daughters Cherri (Mike) Downing of Harrisonville, MO, Shelly Burk of Leander, TX and Carrie (Steve) Beckwith of Leander, TX. Four grandchildren, Katie (Tyler) Cook of Overland Park, KS, Jacob Pfister of Leander, TX, Taylor Anderson of Abilene, TX, Abby Beckwith of Leander, TX and great-grandson Colton Cook of Overland Park, KS. He is also survived by his brothers Kelly (Vicki) Burk of Springfield, MO and Rick (Corrine) Burk of Hallsville, MO, brother-in-law Bill (Christine) Rattenborg of Ft. Collins, CO, brother-in-law Ken Maxson of Belton, MO, sister-in-law Gloria Rattenborg of Manchester, IA, and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, daughter Tracy Burk, brothers Ronald Burk, William Burk, Robert Burk, sisters Rowena Burk, Carol Tolzman, Sharon McCleery, Judy Maxson, brother-in-law Gary Tolzmann, brother-in-law Jerry Rattenborg, sister-in-law Joanne Jorgensen and husband Don, nephew Daniel Burk, and nieces Leslie and Ruth Rattenborg.