Courtesy Daughter Sandy

Ferris Creamer Burke
September 16, 1927 - July 9, 2007

"My Daddy was a proud man and very brave - a World War II hero. He saved the lives of twenty sailors in enemy waters on the beach in Normandy. He turned the ship around, without orders, jumped into a landing craft and rescued them from the channel.

"He used to let me comb his hair into outrageous styles, just to make me giggle with delight. He used to always sing 'Daddy’s little Girl' to me. Another favorite song shared by father and daughter, was the Patti Paige song 'How much is that Doggy in the Window?' Daddy would sing that to me and I would respond with 'Arf Arf.'

"If my Mom was chastising me, my Dad would yell for me to 'Come get on Daddy's lap, I will save you,' and he'd laugh, much to my mom's disgust. Eventually she would laugh too.

Dad, Skeeter (Son), Sandy (Daughter), and Vicki the Dog

"He gave me a nickel every day to buy candy at Dave and Dot’s. He played 'Horse Bite an Apple' with me or 'Giddy Up, Giddy Up, Giddy Up, Horsey, Whoa.'

"Summer trips to Olympia Lakes, in Willingboro, were fond memories, to recall. 'Are we there yet?'

"His Camel cigarettes, rolled up in his T-shirt sleeve - a vivid memory.

"Once when I was in my 30s, very sick and not able to work for a week, my Dad showed up on my doorstep with bags of groceries. It touched my heart. So he had picked out things I would never eat, but it was done with such love. I did eat them.

Beatrice and Ferris on Their Wedding Day

"He sometimes worked three jobs, just to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. He was a plumber, by trade, but also tried his hand at other things.

"He was a Taxi Cab Driver, after the War. That's how he met my Mom, Beatrice. She was a dispatcher. She fell head over heels for him. And he felt the same way about her. It was love at first sight.

"He was a Green Valley Milkman and a Calgon Soap Salesman who delivered soap to some of New Jersey's landmark restaurants: Cinelli's, the Latin Casino, and the Hawaiian Cottage. Eventually, he owned his own steam cleaning business. He didn't do well working for others, so it was a dream come true for him - to have his own business. He retired at the age of 55.

"My Dad was the best storyteller. He could recall dates and names like you wouldn't believe. Even though he told these stories often, we never tired of hearing them. He had a dry sense of humor and that made some of the stories hilarious.

"My Dad was the youngest of seven children, born to Loretta Estelle Ferris and Daniel Burke in 1927. He was born in Maple Shade, NJ. A neighbor, Mrs. Creamer (pronounced Cramer), helped to deliver him - hence his middle name. His siblings were George, Muriel (age 91 at the time of this writing), Dorothy, Bill, Floyd, and Doris.

"As a child, my Dad's nickname was 'Pancake' because although a cutie pie, his face was perfectly round. As an adult my Dad looked like a Movie Star. I always thought he looked like Clint Eastwood.

"He joined the United States Navy, at the age of 14. He lied and said he was 16. Some of the difficult things that he did, and only revealed for a book which was published about the War, were these. At the age of 16, off Omaha Beach, my Father was told by his commander on the Hospital Ship LST 285 to find some unused pieces of iron. When my Dad returned with the iron, he was then told to tape amputated limbs to the metal and throw them overboard. Later, when it was found out what my Dad had used these pieces of iron for, he was chastised by the keeper of the metal for 'using the good stuff.' Another deed my Dad was forced to perform was to shoot dead bodies full of holes so that they would sink. Such a young boy, made to perform these tasks!

"He was a true hero. When my Mother Beatrice passed away in 2005, so much of his spirit died with her. Just one year after losing my Mother, he lost their beloved poodle, Barney. He was truly lost in a mind that was not kind to him in the end.

"He passed away, just two months short of his 80th birthday. He loved his country, could not understand the way of the world 'today,' and complained about it often. His family meant the world to him. He liked to let us think that he was not 'affected' by things, but he was - oh so sensitive.

"My Daddy was so many things, but first and foremost he was a loving son and Father, and I miss him very much."

Sandra Lee Collison nee Burke
December 2007

2868 Cushing Road
Fairview, Camden, NJ
1953-1961