Vera Mae (Finch) Burkes
Marriages
Ovid Clark Burkes - February 19, 1946
In Houston, Texas
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Obituary - July 28, 2019
Vera Mae Finch Burkes, 96, passed away July 19, 2019, in Monument, Colorado. She was born January 21, 1923, to Robert McGee Finch and Fannie Lou Brown in Esbon, Kansas. When she was three years old her family moved to Simla, Colorado. After graduating from Lewis Consolidated High School in Monument, she won a scholarship to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she graduated in 1945, with a BS degree in accounting. Vera Mae married Ovid Clark Burkes on February 19, 1946, in Houston, Texas. She worked as an accountant, a devoted housewife, and as a school teacher. It was as a school teacher that Vera Mae found a vocation she truly loved. She believed the ability to read was fundamental to a successful life and loved working with the early elementary grades. Vera Mae was devoted to her husband and children, as well as to her extended family. She especially enjoyed hosting and participating in family reunions. After their retirements Vera Mae and Ovid moved from Kansas to Austin, Colorado (near Delta). They spent their time tending an apple orchard, gardening and traveling. After 53 years of marriage Ovid passed away in 1999. Vera Mae is survived by her children, Robert (Son Nguyen) Burkes, Peggy (George) Schreyer, Kathy (Larry) Pope, and Richard Burkes; grandchildren, George B. Schreyer, Samuel Schreyer, Benjamin Pope, Peter Pope, Betsy Pope, and great-grandson, David Schreyer. The funeral service will be held August 11, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. at Monument Community Presbyterian Church in Monument, CO. Graveside services will be in the veterans section of the Orchard Mesa Cemetery, Grand Junction, CO on August 12, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. If you plan to attend services please contact the family to RSVP. To leave the family an online condolence visit: www. DignityMemorial.com
