Mr Joseph D. Burrucker

Joseph Denis Burrucker passed away peacefully at home in Durham, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. He was born on August 1, 1926 at the Society of Lying-In Hospital in New York, New York. Joe was born five minutes after his fraternal twin sister, Charlotte. Joe was primarily raised in what is now the Lower East Side of Manhattan, running track, and excelling in sports at the Boys' Club of New York Harriman Clubhouse on East 10th Street. Joe enlisted in the Army in 1944 where he was honored to serve as a Tuskegee Airman in the Army Air Corp as a pilot and air traffic controller. He was honorably discharged in 1946, returning to New York to complete his high school education. He met his wife of 55 years, the former Selina Duran, when they worked as camp counselors at the former Camp Sharparoon of the New York City Mission Society in upstate New York. They married in 1949. Joe went on to graduate from Bloomfield College in New Jersey and later earned a Master's Degree in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University in 1966, eventually becoming the director of recruitment and financial aid for Case Western's School of Applied Social Sciences. . From 1952 until he retired in 2001, Joe served the greater Cleveland community in the social services field. His first job in Cleveland was working with Murtis H. Taylor who recruited him to Cleveland to work with youth at her community center which is now the Murtis H. Taylor Human Service System for Cuyahoga County. Joe was a juvenile parole officer with the Ohio Youth Commission, served as the Executive Director of the U.S.O. Of Cuyahoga County and retired from full-time work as the Executive Director of the Family Preservation Program at Beech Brook Behavioral Treatment Center. Joe and Selina were devoted members of the Church of the Covenant Presbyterian Church on Euclid Ave. They relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida and later Durham, North Carolina in retirement. Joe continued his love of flying airplanes, piloting small aircraft whenever he could, becoming an honorary member of the Person County Pilots Association of North Carolina until his death. Joe and Selina shared 55 years of marriage, and built a family and home full of love and laughter. He is preceded in death by his twin sister Charlotte, and wife Selina. Joe is survived by his daughter Jolyn Parker and son in law William of Rancho Santa Fe, California and son Donald and daughter in law Kim of Roxboro, North Carolina. He cherished his beloved grandchildren, Marisa, Wendi, Nina, K'ray, and Gjedon and eight great grandchildren. Donations in his honor may be made to the place he credits for providing a strong foundation for his youth. The Boys Club of New York 287 East 10th Street New York, NY 10009 www.bcny.org Joe will be cremated. Interment: Ferncliff Cemetery 280 Secor Rd. Hartsdale, NY 10530 Acknowledgement The family of Joe Burrucker is indeed grateful to each of you for your visits, phone calls, flowers, cards and many kind expressions of sympathy shown during this period of bereavement. My God bless each of you.

Mr Joseph D. Burrucker

August 1, 1926 - October 15, 2013