Patricia Ann (Vaughan) Burke

Loving Wife, Mother, Grandma, Sister, and Friend 

“To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose… “- Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Today we gather to celebrate the life of a beautiful, kind, strong, thoughtful, intelligent, and loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend. 

Patricia never met a stranger or a person she couldn’t make feel seen, loved, heard and cared for.  She was loved and she loved with her entire soul.  Her family was her life, and she was theirs. 

Patricia was born on July 17, 1952, in Orange County, Virginia to the late Robert Cecil Vaughan and Zebudah Johnson Vaughan.  She was the 6th of nine children and loved being a sister.  She came from a family of faith and strong determination, which she exemplified.  Patricia was big on family from an early age and into her last days was still planning ways for her family to get together.  Patricia was preceded in death by her parents as well as six of her siblings, Sylvia (Blakey), Cecil Bobby, Phoebie (Beasley), H. Lee, P. Jean (Jones), and Bernice (White).  Patricia left this earthly life on July 24, 2024, surrounded by her husband, Daniel, and two daughters, Danielle and Danyette at The UF Health The Villages Hospital.  

Patricia received Christ at a very early age and attended church with her family in Orange, VA at Little Zion Baptist Church.  She attended several churches and honored different faiths over her 72 years as life moved her from Virginia to Maryland and finally to Florida.  She knew and loved the Lord and served in every church she was a part of in some capacity and even attended services while on vacation, traveling for work, or anytime on the road. When her health made it difficult to attend church in person, Patricia turned to online and virtual services.  You could find her reading the bible, studying the scriptures, listening to the message, singing along to hymnals and gospel music, and sharing the message of the Lord as it brought her tremendous peace and comfort.  

In her early life, Patricia attended Orange County public schools in VA.  In the spring of 1970, Patricia Burke graduated from Armstrong High School, Washington DC and attended Germanna College in Fredericksburg, VA.  Patricia had a very successful and rewarding career with the Department of Defense, serving for over 40 years.  Patricia started with the DoD under The Federal Women’s Program and worked hard, studied hard and earned her way up the administrative ladder.   She was supported by several mentors and supervisors who saw her potential and encouraged her to meet and exceed her goals. She thanks them all and spoke very highly of each of them. Patricia held roles from Administrative Services Manager, Physical Security Supervisor, Support Services Supervisor and more. She took great pride in every role and title she carried retiring as the Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and Administrative Services at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (now Uniformed Services University).  She held a multitude of certifications, trainings, and licenses and received a wealth of awards, recognitions and accolades over her 40 year career.  Her greatest pride within her professional career was supporting, coaching, counseling, advising and mentoring colleagues, co-workers, employees and staff.  She wanted to give back to the community and young professionals. Her capacity for support will be forever missed.  She was known throughout her professional career as “the helper with a heart of gold, strong values and a faithful spirit”, she got things done.  She was dedicated to fair and equal opportunities and an inclusive work environment for all. Patricia was a gem. 

Patricia Ann Vaughan married the love of her life, Daniel F. Burke on February 28, 1970 in Washington DC. From this beautiful union came Danielle (Gray) and Danyette (Young), Boo and Tia to family. They built a life and raised their daughters in both Prince Georges County and Howard County.  After retirement, Patricia and Daniel moved to The Villages in FL to enjoy warmer weather and a slower pace as her health declined.  She leaves behind her amazing husband and daughters, their husbands, Larry Gray and Lucas Young, six grandchildren, Larry Jr, (Marcia), Taja, Daniel Gray and Matthew, Kailey and Christopher Young. Brother, Howard Vaughan (Harriet), sister, Z. Doris Fitzgerald (Byrd) as well as a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbors, and friends. 

Patricia embodied the very best of qualities: unconditional love, strength of spirit, and an unending generosity that could be seen in her care for her family, friends and all who were blessed by her presence.  The lives she touched, impacted and enriched through her love, passion, work and generous heart is a true testament to the incredible woman she was. 

We invite you to share your fond memories, stories, and photos of Patricia.  Your contributions will help keep her spirit alive and will offer comfort and support to those grieving. May the love and life of Patricia Ann (Vaughan) Burke continue to shine brightly in our hearts. Amen. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 10th at 12 noon at St. John Baptist Church, 9055 Tamar Drive,  Columbia Maryland, with visitation from 11am-12 noon.  In addition, a small personal service will be held at her private residence in The Villages, Florida on August 6th.  

“God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can and the wisdom to know… it’s me.” –T. Kulish