A pure and gentle soul who was always laughing
NORTH READING — Lisa Ramsay Burke, 54, of North Reading, passed away on Sunday, November 7, 2021. She was born on July 10, 1967 in Malden. She was a pure and gentle soul who despite many adversities, always had an infectious smile and was a happy and loving girl.
She grew up in North Reading on Swan Pond Road, where, as a young child she relished riding her bike and being part of the neighborhood gang. To know Lisa was to love and adore her, and there was no greater feeling than when she would tell you “you’re nice!”
She attended Crotched Mountain School in New Hampshire from age 10 until her 21st birthday, coming home every weekend for cherished family time. After school, she spent the next 30 years residing in a group home in Medford with her best friend Kathy, with things coming full circle in 2017 when she moved to a new group home in North Reading.
You could often find Lisa doing puzzles and crafts while listening to her favorite artist, Michael Crawford. She was enamored with all things Disney! From trips to the park with endless rides on It’s a Small World, to the many movies she watched under her favorite photo blankets, Mickey and Minnie were always a favorite. And, she rooted exuberantly for all “her” Boston sports teams, especially TB 12.
Most of all, Lisa loved being with her mom and dad and family. She appreciated a good party and thoroughly enjoyed the holidays. She loved getting dressed up and spending time with her nieces and nephews, from watching them swim in the pool to flying kites at Lynch Park and Salem Willows, enjoying a lobster roll to the many trips to her favorite restaurant, McDonald’s, to family game nights around the table – Lisa would laugh the entire time with sheer joy.
Always surrounded by lots of love, she leaves behind a devoted family – including her mother, Linda (Ramsay) Burke; her late father, David Burke; her sister Kristin and her husband, Tim, of Westford; and her three nieces, Brittany, Briana and Brooke; her sister Dina and her husband, Luke, of Andover and her three nephews, Aidan, Ryan and Liam, whom she affectionately referred to as “her boys” and “her girls;” her uncle Eddie Brackett and his late wife, Janice Brackett, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Services will be private and are under the direction of the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. To send an online message of condolence please visit www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in her memory to the Union Congregational Church, 148 Haverhill Street, North Reading, MA 01864 or to the Shriners Hospital for Children, www.shrinerschildrens.org.
