Helen Burke

Helen Elizabeth Mary Burke, age 77, passed peacefully in Littleton, Colorado on July 29,2026 after a short battle with metastatic cancer.

Helen was born on September 23, 1948 in Dublin, Ireland to Simon Leonard and Barbara Leonard (nee Considine). She married her beloved husband Olaf Burke on June 2, 1978 in Dublin, Ireland. She earned a BA in English from Trenton State College and her MA in English Literature from Villanova University. She worked as a Flight Attendant for Laker Airlines, as an English as a Second Language Teacher, and a Business English Consultant, and a load planner and reservation agent for United Airlines. She worked at Greendale Golf Course.

She lived in Dublin Ireland, London, England, Bergen and Oslo, Norway, and Tokyo, Japan. Int he US, she lived in Yardley, Pennsylvania, Annandale, Virginia, and ultimately Centennial, Colorado.

She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, and an avid traveller, gardener, reader, and golfer. She was calm in a crisis, doted on her nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and her entire family. She was devoted to her golf game, having achieved 3 holes in one in her life time, most recently while playing in the Littleton Ladies Nine Hole League.

She is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Olaf, daughter Fiona and son-in-law Andrew Gau, and grandson Owen Gau. She is survived by her siblings, Henry, Brian, and Mark Leonard, Susan Jacobs, Deirdre Leonard, Jane Guckian, and Pheobe Prendergast. She is predeceased by her daughter, Karen Burke and brother, Adrian Leonard.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial on Aug 14, 2026 at 11am. A reception will follow. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Catholic Relief Services, OxFam, or the American Cancer Society.