William A. Burkey

William Altenderfer Burkey of Easton, MD, formerly of Hamburg, PA, died on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 at William Hill Manor in Easton. He was 90. Born August 5, 1912 in Hamburg, PA, Mr. Burkey was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University in 1934. In 1936 he married Claudia Barleon and joined the family business in Hamburg. Upon the death of his father in 1957, Mr. Burkey assumed the presidency of the Burkey Underwear Co., later Burkey Mills, until his retirement and sale of the concern in 1969. A leading businessman, Mr. Burkey was a director of the Hamburg Savings & Trust Bank for more than four decades. He served two terms as president of the Manufacturers Association of Berks County, one term as president of the National Association of Knit Goods Manufacturers and was a long time director of the National Underwear Institute of America. An equally active civic leader, Mr. Burkey was twice elected Borough Councilman in Hamburg, serving briefly as its president until being called to service as an advisor to the war Production Board in 1942. He served as Hamburg Civil Service Commissioner from 1941-49, was a member and past president of the Rotary Club as well as Vaux Hall Lodhe #1 A.F. & A.M. in Hamburg. Mr. Burkey’s range of avocations was remarkable. In the first half of the 20th century he built an electric automobile that is now part of the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. He also helped to found the Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Car Club. A gifted amateur linguist and frequent traveler, Mr. Burkey was among a select group of industrialists invited to the Soviet Union in 1959 and later hosted his Soviet counterparts in their visits to the United States. An avid sailor of wooden yawls his entire adult life, Mr. Burkey retired to his beloved Chesapeake Bay, making his home in Bozman, MD until the death of his wife Claudia after fifty-nine years of marriage. He wedded Mary Hester in 1997, who pre-deceased him in May 2002. With no children of his own, Mr. Burkey is survived by nephews, John S. Burkey, William S. Burkey and Charles S. Burkey. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 25, 2003 at 10:00 AM at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD. A graveside service will be held on Friday at 4:30 PM at St. John’s Cemetery in Hamburg, PA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hamburg Center, PO Box 1000, Hamburg, PA 19526. Arrangements are by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD.