Billy passed away on May 12, 2022 in Eureka after a long illness.

He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Susan F. O’Donnell-Burke, and his sister, Mrs. Angela Casey of Kildare, Ireland, and many nieces and nephews located in various parts of the world.

He was 85 years old.

Billy and his wife Sue moved to Trinidad in 1991, and lived there for 10 years. They moved to McKinleyville, where he was living at the time he fell ill, in 2001.

He was known for his gentle character and his great sense of humor. He was a skilled carpenter and tradesman and was a member of the Carpenter’s Union Local #22 in San Francisco where he lived for many years prior to moving to Trinidad. He loved everything about Humboldt County, and he enjoyed hiking in the woods and climbing Trinidad Head. He loved working outdoors and gardening and had worked as the groundskeeper for the Trinidad Volunteer Fire Department as well as the Salvation Army.

Billy came from a large family in Athenry, Co Galway, Ireland, and immigrated to the USA where he was sponsored by his uncle, Mr. William Burke of New York, in 1956. He moved to San Francisco not long after he arrived and enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he honorably served for four years at the end of the Korean War. He married his wife, Susan F. O’Donnell of San Francisco, where they lived for many years, in 1985.

Billy is greatly missed and it is requested that donations be sent to the Alzheimer’s Society.

May he rest in peace.

###