December 12, 1963 - June 19, 2022
Thomas Buerke December 12, 1963 – June 19, 2022 Thomas Buerke passed away June 19th after a long fight with brain cancer. Tom fought his diagnosis until the end and faced the journey with courage, grace, hope, determination, and a sense of humor. He was surrounded by loved ones at the time of his death. Rather than letting cancer take over his life, Tom continued to pursue the things he truly loved – spending time in nature with his family and friends. He was an avid outdoorsman and inspired everyone he could to be moving outside. Tom enjoyed hiking, biking, hunting, canoeing, camping, backpacking, geocaching, fishing, traveling and exploring. His passion and curiosity were endless. He spent a lot of time volunteering for organizations that benefited the outdoors, such as the Bureau of Land Management, Inland Northwest Wildlife Council and Cornell University. Tom was a kind, caring and giving person with a contagious laugh and smile and a heart of gold. He worked as an x-ray tech for Kaiser Permanente for almost 30 years. He will be deeply missed by everyone whose life he touched. Tom is survived by his wife of 38 years, Shannen, his father, Doug Buerke, step mother, Phyllis Buerke, mother, Linda Peterson, step father, Don Peterson, sister, Karen Santora, brother-in-law, Ken Santora, brother and sister-in-law, Rick and Cheryl Dubois, nephews Ryan and Jason Dubois, niece, Megan Westerlund, and his beloved dog, Jax. A celebration of life for Tom Buerke will be held September 10th at 11:00 AM at Camp Caro at 698 S. Sargent Road. In lieu of flowers, family asks that donations be made in memory of Tom to the Glioblastoma Foundation https://glioblastomafoundation.org/.
