Edward Richard Burka ’52

Ed came to Princeton from Staunton Military Academy, majored in biology, graduated magna cum laude, ate at Elm, ran track, was a Distinguished Military Student in ROTC, played in the dance and concert orchestras, and joined the Washington Club and the Pre-Med Society. He roomed with Geoff Nunes, Al Benjamin, and George Tangen.

He earned a medical degree at Columbia while serving as a first lieutenant in the Army Reserves. In active service he was an airborne master parachutist at Wiesbaden Air Base. In the reserves for 33 years, he reached the rank of brigadier general and from 1979 to 1983 was deputy to the Army Surgeon General for Mobilization.

Ed’s medical career was equally distinguished. An eminent hematologist on the faculty of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, he served on boards of medical research journals and was published 80 times.

Ed died Jan. 9, 2021. He is survived by his children, Karen, Jane, and Thomas ’81, to whom we offer condolences with congratulations in Ed’s memory for his stellar service to our country.