LEWES - Patricia "Patty" Meade Thompson Burke passed away peacefully at her home on Lewes Beach on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, with her loving family by her side. She was born on April 6, 1945, in Lewes, daughter of the late Wesley Howard Thompson and Patricia Meade Layton. Mrs. Burke spent most of her childhood growing up in Rehoboth Beach, Del. She attended the Mary Burnham School and the American School in Switzerland. Mrs. Burke enjoyed traveling extensively throughout Europe alongside her aunt, Anne L. Layton who served in various capacities with the American Foreign Service. She spent a lifelong career in Real Estate and was among the youngest of realtors to achieve the designation as a Real Estate Broker. Mrs. Burke was never far from the beach and insisted before she would give her hand in marriage; her husband would have to move to the beach. She was truly a person with "sand between her toes". She enjoyed walking her dogs along the beach and was often seen swimming up until as late as November. Most of all, Mrs. Burke enjoyed spending time with her family and tending to her extensive garden. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and dear friend who will be missed by all who knew her. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Burke was preceded in death by her grandmother, Jennie Harvie Jones Layton in 2000; and her aunt, Anne Landreth Layton in 2011. She is survived by her loving husband of 39 years, Merritt Burke III "Sam"; four sons, Merritt Burke IV and his wife Linda of Milton, Del., Laurence Layton Burke of Broadkill Beach, Del., Thompson Asbury Burke and his wife Lauren of Greenwood, Del., and Christopher Meade Burke of Broadkill Beach; five grandchildren; one sister, Suzanne Blair Watkins of Tallahassee, Fla.; two loving dogs, Cedar and Bess; and three grand-dogs. Memorial Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, at St. Georges Episcopal Chapel, 20274 Beaver Dam Road at Route 23, Harbeson, DE, where friends may visit beginning at 10 a.m. Interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Lewes, DE. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Tunnel Cancer Center, 424 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958. Please visit Mrs. Burkes Life Memorial Webpage and sign her online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com