Michael loved life and lived it to the fullest. He did more in his short 27 years than most do in a full lifetime. He will be missed terribly by all those whose lives he touched.

Memories of Michael

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From: Steve Heintz (July 2005)

I didn’t know Michael long. I work for CIGNA and Michael starting helping us with a project through Accenture about six months ago. During that time however, I worked very closely with Mike. I talked to him virtually every day, was in constant email communication and the highlight of that period, I got to spend two weeks in Manila with Mike.

The funny thing is, during all those phone calls and emails, it hardly ever seemed to be about work. Don’t get me wrong, Mike was a brilliant individual and we accomplished a tremendous amount during this project. It was just his personality – always cracking a joke to lighten the mood, sharing a funny story and just putting everyone at ease.

Mike’s sudden and tragic passing is difficult to understand. It is a testament to the type of individual Mike was given the impact this loss had to several of us who only knew him a short time. I learned about Mike’s passing at about 6:30 am Tuesday morning. It took me about 24 hours to overcome the shock and come to two realizations. First, if Mike saw us dwelling on his passing he would be sure to put on that sheepish grin and say something witty to soothe our loss. He celebrated life too much for others to feel sorrow over his passing. That led to my second realization – that I am a much better man for knowing Mike Burke. He taught me to live life to the fullest, treat each obstacle as an adventure, and treat others with a kindness that could never be questioned.

God bless you Michael and thank you.

Steve Heintz
Phoenix, Arizona

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