RE: {Chrysler 300} Michael Burke

Looks as though we newer members have missed out knowing many great members and 300 historians. Best thing we can do to honor Mike, Gill and the others who have departed is to pass their knowledge and enthusiasm along to the generation behind us. Who knows, it may well be that the coming electrification of cars will spur a renewed interest in high performance cars from the midcentury.

Danny Plotkin

From: 'Michael J Falcone' via Chrysler 300 Club International [mailto:chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, February 2, 2024 6:58 PM
To: Chrysler 300 Club International <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} Michael Burke

Sad news, Mike was a great guy, he welcomed me when I first became a member and got me to stay up late into the morning many nights at the meets. He made for some very interesting and funny conversations besides his great knowledge of Letter Cars. He will definitely be missed and the nights in the hospitality room won't be the same without him.

On Friday, February 2, 2024 at 05:56:16 PM EST, Brian and Kathy Frank <300gforce@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I agree with the sentiments expressed above. My first contact with Mike was about 35 years ago when George Riehl agreed to rebuild the engine in my 300 G. Because George still lived "in town" before he moved to Jonesville my car was dropped off at the Burke farm. The idea was George would go to work on it at Mike's. Ultimately I asked George to do some other things on the car and I think it stayed at Mike's for well over a year. Mike even helped George with a couple things on my car but would never take any payment.

Over the years when I needed an odd part here and there for one of my 300s I'd call Mike. He helped me out more than once and, like Keith said, would never take money. He did say he'd trade parts so one time when I found a really nice 1960 Chrysler 2-door door at the Iola swap meet I bought it. I called Mike to see if he could use it. He said in his very casual manner that he had one or two 1960 Chryslers (I think he had at least 8-10 300 Fs at the time) on the farm and presumed at least one would need metal work on the doors. The next time I was going his way I dropped the door off. He hoisted it over his shoulder and took it into one of his buildings housing many MoPar treasures. Maybe it's still leaned against the same wall where he put it.

Another time he sent me a part I needed and instead of asking how much he wanted, because I knew he wouldn't take anything, I just sent him a check for what I thought was fair. Mike never cashed my check.

Noel lives about 100 miles from me. A few years back I went down to Noel's and then Noel (driving his 300 F) and I went to a couple car shows in Michigan, meeting up with John Begian along the way. We ended up stopping at the Burkes after the first day for what I thought was going to be for dinner. I thought we were going to go out someplace for dinner. As I recall we were going to stay at a hotel up the road a few miles as this was a two day trip before Noel and I returned to Illinois and Wisconsin respectively the next day. Instead, Linda made us all dinner and then we ended up staying overnight at the Burkes as a result of Linda and Mike's hospitality. Cancel the hotel reservation. We talked "cars" and whatever half-way through the night.

Mike has been a great friend and I join in Keith's sentiments that some of the best times were the late night hospitality room discussions at the 300 meets. RIP Mike. My thoughts and prayers to Linda and the Burke family.

Brian

On Fri, Feb 2, 2024 at 2:59 PM Keith Boonstra <kboonstra.zeegroup@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Well said, Noel. Michael certainly was an "extraordinary character" and I counted his friendship as a real treasure. Whether it was information, advice, or a part I needed, Michael would always be right there to help. A dozen years ago or so, when my 300C transmission was giving me unsortable vibration fits, Michael even came up with George Riehl to my toy barn ( a 4 hour round trip) and we all worked together to take the transmission down and try to figure out the problem. He asked for nothing more than "Thanks". And then, with my transmission problems seeming impossible to resolve, he invited me to come down to his place in Quincy and pick any one of a stack of 6 transmissions there just because he wanted to be helpful.

Later, when I wanted to add A/C to my car, he said he had a genuine 1957 Mopar Cool Air aftermarket setup in a '58 parts car. He didn't intend to use it and said I was welcome to it. I had to beg him to take even a very small amount of cash for it. I installed it in our C and we love this very rare, original, and "cool" accessory.

But my fondest memories are of closing down the hospitality room at several Meets with Michael and his flask of Makers Mark. There were always great stories from all the hangers-on until everybody wore out for the night.

There will never be a greater fan (fanatic?) of the Chrysler Letter Cars than Michael Burke was, and we will all miss him and everything he meant to the Chrysler 300 Club International.

RIP, Michael. We'll always wish you were still with us.

Keith Boonstra

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On Fri, Feb 2, 2024 at 9:33 AM Noel Hastalis <cpaviper@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Terribly sad to hear that our dear friend Michael Burke has passed away. Though I’m a relative newbie with our 300 Club (since 2005), Michael was one of the first Club members I was fortunate to have met. It was at the Krasl Concours in St. Joseph, MI – a drizzly day for the Concours that was featuring Letter Cars, around 2006 or so. Didn’t have the F there, I was walking around the show, when I came upon a yellow F coupe creeping by that caught my eye. I walked up to it, knocked on the raised driver’s side window and introduced myself as a 300 Club member. Michael was driving and had two passengers – don’t recall who they were. So, I got in the back seat and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon visiting with them – the beginning of a valued friendship. Michael loved that I was serious about driving my F to Club Meets, car shows and general open road country cruising, and helped me innumerable times when I needed something for, or had a question regarding, my F. Most recently, when my F motor required a rebuild in late 2021, he arranged for his local buddy Dale Richhart in Quincy to rebuild it. Dale was finishing up his rebuild of Andy Mikonis’ 1961 Daytona Speed Weeks G shortram 413 motor, and rebuilt my motor immediately following.

In 2019, when I was traveling to London, Michael connected me with his buddy Jan Fridberg in Sweden to attend the Power Big Meet in Lidköping, in early July. Jan picked me up at the Oslo airport, and we drove to his home, with a stop at Arne Nilsson’s for a delicious lunch of moose stew. Pulled into Arne’s driveway that’s marked by a faded red 300-E coupe shell with its nose buried at a 45-degree angle. Then over to Jan’s home, seeing his restoration of a white 300-C convertible in process, a variety of large metal-bending presses, and so much more. A 5-hour drive through the beautiful forested Swedish countryside, south to the Power Big Meet the following morning. A mind-exploding event – Wednesday set-up, Thursday thru Saturday car overload – about 19,000 total cars - at least 98% American, and about 90% of those ‘50s and ‘60s – U.S. flags flying and draped over car interiors, American music and more. Visited with Dave and Cheryl Mihalko (of Quirey), Per Blixt (Jay Leno’s painter with his Fuelie D coupe we admired at our Pasadena Meet), and other new Swede friends. What an amazing experience, and I could never thank Michael enough.

Michael has done so much to support our 300 Club, decades longer than I’ve been involved, to arrange for and import many parts we’ve needed to maintain and upgrade our Letter Cars, to have some of them restored in Sweden, and to save and offer so many Letter and other Forward Look cars that may otherwise have been crushed. And then, in 2016 when Michael stepped down as a Club Director, and asked me to step into that position, I initially felt uneasy assuming his valued role. I could ramble on, but will stop now. An extraordinary character who touched so many people in our Club, I was privileged to call Michael my friend. Our condolences to Linda.

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