Barbara Burke, nee Hawley

In Loving Memory of Barbara Joan Burke, nee Hawley

September 22, 1943 – July 26, 2026 Barbara Joan Burke, nee Hawley, aged 82, passed away on July 26, 2026 in Winter Park, Florida. She was an artist, mother, and friend whose vibrant spirit and creative soul touched everyone she met. Barbara was born on September 22, 1943, in Tel Aviv, Palestine (Israel), to her parents, Edward George Hawley and Helen (Gordon) Hawley. She attended grade school in New Jersey and Friendship, Florida where she became an accomplished equestrian rider.

She grew up with an independent and lively nature, later attending Miss Belle Stevens Vogue Modeling and Charm School and graduating from Trenton High School and embracing an unconventional life.

Over her long and colorful journey, Barbara brought her unique energy and eye for beauty to many different fields. In her early years, she worked as a model for local clothing and fashion stores, a dispatcher for the New Jersey State Police, and later shared her aesthetic talents as a cosmetologist.

She also blended her culinary and creative gifts in food service at the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut, and at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. In both campus communities, she became widely famous for her incredibly unique, artistic, and meticulously styled bagel bars.

While she held many jobs, her true heartbeat was always that of an artist. Barbara possessed an endless, unstoppable creative drive. She spent decades mastering traditional mediums including ink, pastels, oils, pencils, and textiles. True to her forward-thinking nature, she later embraced technology, adapting her traditional eye to the digital world and beautifully transforming her artwork through digital design.

She is survived by her five children: Tracey Carrigan, Stephanie Van Clief and her husband, Tom Johnson, Kristin Davis and her husband, Daryl, Sean Casey and his wife, Malisa, and Patrick Casey.

She is the proud grandmother of: Vasilios Halas and his wife, Ashley, Jake Van Clief and his wife, Cheyenne, Shiloh, Ryanne, Josie, and Lucas Casey, Tyler Johnson and his wife Erica, Mason Johnson, Ashleigh Johnson, and her husband Ryan Romero.

Her legacy continues through her beautiful, talented great-grandchildren: Dimitri, Aurora, Wylder, and soon to be Baby Van Clief, Brooklyn, Sedona, and Lucia

Barbara also leaves behind many cousins and wonderful friends collected over a lifetime of adventures, including her deeply devoted friend, Luis. She is predeceased by her parents, Ted and Helen.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Barbara’s memory to support the next generation of young creators. Her lifelong passion was the pursuit of art, and contributions will help fund art teachers, classroom innovations, and community youth art projects. Please consider directing your memorial gifts to: Organization: National Art Education Foundation (NAEF) Online Donations: Gifts can be made directly online through the official NAEF Website using their Donor Commemoration Form. Mailing Address for Checks: National Art Education Foundation 901 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314