Brenda Chadwick Burke

I started working at St. Luke's hospital in Phoenix at around 1979 as assistant director of volunteer services. I also did therapy work and an outpatient facility with patients with a variety of different mental illnesses doing art therapy work. In 1989 our Family moved to Santa Fe .New Mexico and I began working for a company called Pecos River Learning Center. The company had a 3000 acre ranch out passed Santa Fe in which we did change management for Fortune 100 companies. Late in 1989 they asked me if I wanted to open the Canadian operation as president of Pecos River in Canada so our family moved to Toronto. Ontario. We open the first office there in late 1989. I work with companies such as General Motors of Canada Ford Chrysler along with one of the largest still companies in the world called the Dofasco steel in Hamilton,Ontario. We loved Toronto and I had the opportunity to work in every province from British Columbia all the way to Newfoundland. We tried to get landed immigrant status since the business was growing and the company wanted me to stay longer. But unfortunately do the turnover at that time with Hong Kong it was difficult because so many people were coming into Canada. In 1992 they gave me several options for places to move and open up another office in the states. We chose Chicago and in 1995 a company called Aon Corporation purchased our company. Their headquarters were in Chicago so it was a blessing for me. Our headquarters then move down to downtown Chicago on Wacker Drive. I spent most of those years though working in Canada since I still had the same position in Canada and the business was continuing to grow put it this way I was on an airplane every week sometimes every other day! I love my work and it was very leading edge in which we are the kinds of things we did. Many of my customers were Kraft,Abbot, Baxter pharmaceuticals ,Dupont etc. I love my work and I love the people that I worked with certainly both jobs I've had in my lifetime I've been dream jobs. Even though the larger corporation Aon it purchased us we still remained a family of about 100 and some odd employees with in a large corporation over 50,000+ employees. I had the opportunity to travel through Europe and South America along with everywhere in the United States and again throughout Canada. In January 2000 I had some kind of rare stroke while I was lying on a very short flight from Chicago to Dallas. I then flew on to Phoenix Arizona and went to the male clinic and said that if I did not feel better I should see a neurologist. I stayed at my sister Cathy's house and came back to Chicago after two weeks where they had Dr. a Dr. lined up. They initially thought I had MS. I was diagnosed that year at University of Chicago by one of the top Emmas doctors in the world if any of you ever need to see someone and God for bid you do. He diagnosed me within 15 minutes with a very rare form of migraine even though I never had a migraine to my fourth year it's called hemiplegic migraine and when you get it of your body strokes out. You also lose your speech you get blurred vision confusion etc. The company tried to find me a job something so I could stay with them but it was impossible and the doctors said there was nothing that I could do. I went on short-term disability and that of been on long term disability since them. So for the last 14 years I've had sort of a silent sabbatical retreat and I've had many different things occur. I call this sort of my third chapter of my life. I have done both eastern and western medicine. I am done the practices of Buddhism with meditation and prayer. No one seems to really have the answers so I just try to stay in the present moment as much as I can. I share the story for you because I think there are many young women who got into the workplace and are doing the same thing I know many of them myself and flying as much as I did per year does not make it any easier. I just need to define the middle path or middle way. I'm not able to use a computer and haven't been able to since it gives me dizziness and vertigo but now is Siri and the iPhone has most of my friends will tell you she can talk your ear off if my voice is working and I don't have a cold or virus on my speeches and out. Then I can text with my little Siri numbers and letters. I am most proud of my two daughters or should I say Eric at my daughters Tricia and Kyli. Tricia is a therapist and in private practice and has been for over 12 years she currently lives in Hawaii and is married she just married at 41. Thank goodness that list she had for finding a husband ,she dwindled down he is a wonderful man and is in the army and retires this July at only 46! They love Hawaii and her husband has three children from a previous marriage and one of them lives with Tricia and her husband. Kyli has been with us in Chicago,she is a teacher and got her masters degree. She teaches in North Chicago and absolutely loves her work. She lives in Evanston which is only 15 minutes from the city. Eric and I have known each other now for 47 years it's hard to believe :-) Eric's still working and has no plans of retiring! We also had two cats Stanley and Sandie, yes I am a cat lady now!! Sadly we lost our Stanley July 2013. I also lost my sister Kathy many of you may know in May 2013. It was probably one of the hardest things I will ever go through in my life. We have a favorite place that if my health is well enough we try to go to in the summers and that is Lake Placid New York. We love the Adirondacks and for those that have not been there I highly recommend it. Some of you may know that two of the winter Olympics or held up in Lake Placid. It is a beautiful place in the summer. We still look forward to the burke vacations since I am so blessed to have my sister-in-law Denise Blied Burke not only be my sister-in-law but my friend?? This summer we have plans to do another one of our BURKE vacations in Vermont I believe Ryan my nephew found the place since that's where he went to school. If you don't hear back from all of us will leave someone a map :-) Eric and Tim lost their mother and Denise and myself are mother-in-law in May 2014 just short of her 95th birthday it was a great loss for all of us and we miss her so much. I don't know what else I've been up to just researching medicine and probably getting an M.D. degree anytime soon?? I needed to slow down and I had lots of little pebbles until he got the big boulder as I call it and the wake up call that I was pushing my mind and body weight too fast. Brenda burke

I have many favorites ,cool stories, but my memory is not that good for all sorts of reasons but I will try to just tell a few. I have many teachers that I can't remember their names but clearly were such an influence on me and where I would go in my life. If any of you remember our human relations teacher? I had known since I was in grade school that I wanted to go into psychology or some kind of social work therapist.It seems leading edge that we had anhuman relations class. I also really liked my algebra teacher again cannot remember her name and I was terrible and algebra thank God I didn't need to use it in my job! Was it Mrs. Davis does that sound familiar. What a my full most fun moments and memories is that when my sister had to of been only six years old was Cari in the crown for homecoming king and queen. That would've been Kathy my sister. I remember that year was Marty Shuford who is the homecoming king I don't remember the queen. What I most remember is that I liked everyone and I don't mean to sound Pollyanna about this but I never felt like I was in a click they still use that word today I think! I really saw everyone the same you may not of realize that about me but for me the most important thing was that I like someone if they were kind and compassionate and caring. And fun! It didn't matter which group they hung out on or if they were on the football team or anything else. I look back in high school and I realize the people I was drawn to and it was quite an eclectic group! I remember going into drama and doing Oklahoma,Eric still is this not believe I did it. I didn't have this concept that if you were in the band or a drama on the football team or cheerleader or good in math that you were sometimes categorized. I had been that way before I even went to Saguaro and when I was at Kiva and even my first school which was in Phoenix called Longview. I guess I'm hoping my legacy in my life would be that I was kind to everyone at least that was always my intent and my purpose. I know there were lots of another fun times I remember when they kidnapped us and actually brought us up to my parents house for the SaberCats? Doesn't make sense maybe that's part of my neurological stuff but I think Denise remembers that how could I live at home "be kidnapped and then take him back to my home :-) maybe we just had the party for the SaberCats at my parents house which by the way has been torn down in fact they're tearing a lot of those houses down very sad?? it seems like a high school just went so fast I remember Mrs. Baker and I see she's on Facebook and I did go to Mexico and Costa Rica and Columbia and many places for my work I'm sorry Mrs. Baker my Spanish did not help she probably won't be surprised. I did go to France though I can't remember my French teacher but she was a very attractive lady maybe that's Mrs. Davis I think she kindly said I should go on to Spanish. But actually my French worked out better for me than my Spanish but I'm glad that I took languages!!!! And I encourage every person who has a grandson or granddaughter to get them into languages now :-) there were lots of fun times 45 years ago hard to believe I just threw my landline in the garbage can the other day so this is pretty good to remember these moments??