Burke, Alan R., age 87, of Maple Lake, Minnesota, died June 20, 2026, surrounded by his family.

Memorial service will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 29, 2026, with visitation one hour prior at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 5460 63rd St. NW, Maple Lake, MN with Rev. Culynn Curtis officiating. Interment to follow at Marysville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Alzheimer's Association . Alz.org

Big Al was born on May 21, 1939, to Rudolph and Nellie (Berg) Burke, the second of three children. It is rumored that when he came out, he gave the doctor a high five before being handed to his mother. Growing up in various parts of the country, he naturally concluded that Minnesota-clearly the best state-should be his forever home.

After graduating from Minnehaha Academy, where he was granted the ability to bestow talents to younger classmates, he attended the University of Minnesota. While he still had some strawberry-blonde locks of hair, he decided to pop the question to a lovely girl named, Sandra Olson, the love of his life. They married in 1965 and built a home on Rock Lake (the garage came later), where they raised their children, Sonya (with a "y") and Eric (with a "c"), as the rest of his hair quickly migrated to his back.

Al often demonstrated his near-superhuman grip strength by opening jars of pickles before the saucer-like eyes of his amazed offspring and nephews. He also graciously lost the biggest mouth contest to his sister-in-law while at the same time winning the pancake eating contest.

He was a local legend at libraries and bookstores with his page-at-a-glance reading ability, without ever receiving a paper cut. Some of his favorite authors included Clive Cussler, Stephen King, I. P. Freely, and, of course, Seymour Hare. His love of books was matched by a passion for music, and Al was a fixture in the church choir for decades, where it was said he could sing the angels from the sky.

An avid outdoorsman, but terrible marksman, he nonetheless enjoyed duck and pheasant hunting in the fall and spent countless hours flailing the lake with a fishing line, occasionally with success. He also coached T-ball and Little League, sharing his time and enthusiasm with countless young athletes.

After choosing to accept the mission of being "Grandpa Burke" in 2002, he enjoyed many trips to Japan, carrying out his duties as an international man of mystery, spending time with his grandchildren, and developing a fondness for sushi. When not jet-setting around the globe, he crisscrossed the US as a delivery driver, sending postcards from nearly every state reachable by road. Those postcards became treasured reminders that Grandpa was thinking of them, no matter where his next mission took him.

Above all, Al was devoted to Sandra, his partner in adventures for more than sixty years. Together they built a life filled with family, music, books, laughter, skunk figurines, a disastrous ant farm, and stories, some of which are still classified.

He will be remembered for his curiosity, sense of humor, love of books and music, and the joy he brought to all who were lucky enough to know him.

Obituary, Guestbook, and Funeral Webcast online at www.dingmannfuneral.com