Funeral services set for Brian Burke’s son
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Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday in Canton, Mass., for Brendan Burke, 21, son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke. The younger Burke, student manager of the Miami of Ohio hockey team, died Friday of injuries he suffered in a two-vehicle crash on a snowy road near Richmond, Ind.
The family requested that in lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to the Xaverian Leadership Institute, C/O Xaverian Brothers High School, 800 Clapboardtree St., Westwood, MA 02090.
His passenger, Michigan State student Mark A. Reedy, an accomplished diver and volleyball player, will be buried today in his hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Reedy, 18, is survived by his parents and two sisters.
The Maple Leafs will attend Brendan Burke’s funeral and the team’s Facebook page has become a repository for condolence messages for the Burke family. Players honored him Saturday with a moment of silence and a 5-0 victory over Ottawa.
“I think our goal here is to make sure that Burkie and his family don’t have to worry about us,” goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere told reporters. “They have enough on their plate right now. It’s hard enough as it is to lose somebody you love like this, and I can’t even imagine a kid.”
It’s not clear whether this tragedy will affect Brian Burke’s duties as general manager of the U.S. Olympic hockey team. He had planned to march in the opening ceremony on Friday.
-- Helene Elliott