Obituary for Janet Wasem Burke
Janet Burke, a dedicated wife, devoted mother, enthusiastic grandma, cherished aunt, beloved daughter, inseparable sister, lifelong friend, Cougar, Kappa, Bantam, P.E.O. and a fierce defender of those she loved, joined her husband, Roy, in heaven Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, for an evening of gin-and-tonics, cookies and pie. She was 92.
Janet Wasem Burke was born in Lewiston, Oct. 7, 1929, to Weldon and Laura (Dustan) Wasem. The family owned furniture stores and drugstores in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley — including the namesake Wasem’s Drug, in Clarkston.
As a girl, Janet was outside often, playing at her Dustan grandparents’ home at the bottom of the Clarkston Heights hill and in the wheat fields at the Wasem family’s original homestead, near Culdesac. She was in Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire) and Job’s Daughters. She was also an active musician; she played piano and cello and sang in the choir. She used to say that she and her friends would buy every new piece of sheet music that arrived at Hirzel’s in Lewiston. At Christmas one year she sang a new Irving Berlin song no one had heard, “White Christmas.”
Janet was a proud Clarkston Bantam, a varsity cheerleader who kept the school’s Mascot in her grandma Wasem’s yard. She famously jumped on the back of a Lewiston Bengal who was trying to steal the Rooster. She attended Washington State College (now WSU) and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. It was at WSU that she was introduced to one of her brother Cliff’s fraternity brothers, Roy Burke. They were married Sept. 7, 1950, in Lewiston.
After Janet and Roy graduated from WSU, they moved to Detroit, where Roy worked for Stouffer’s Restaurants and Janet used her home economics degree to work for a major gas company. After three years in Detroit, they moved to the Lewis Clark Valley, where Roy began developing his retail furniture business. Janet and Roy later owned several furniture stores, which were operated by Roy. They included Burke’s Furniture in Clarkston, Furniture Center in Moscow, Surplus Furniture in Clarkston, Berger-Mace Furniture in Lewiston and Wasem’s Furniture in Clarkston.
In the Burke Clarkston home, overlooking the Lewis Clark Valley, Janet created an oasis for her family and friends that was filled with laughter and unconditional love, where plates were piled high, drinks were re-filled quickly and stories were re-told often. The home’s bedrooms were constantly filled — and overflowed onto the home’s couches and floors — with children and grandchildren who stayed long and often.
Janet loved Clarkston and enjoyed exploring the Western United States to see her children and grandchildren. She and Roy traveled to Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and all over Washington State — often with a horse, grand piano or both — helping family settle into new homes or to watch their grandchildren play music and sports.
Janet and Roy were together, in love, and in Clarkston, until Roy’s death in 2007. In 2009, Janet began a new chapter in her life, when she moved to Spokane to be closer to family. She took up residence at Touchmark on the South Hill and became a fixture of the community, creating new friends whom she loved dearly. In May, she moved to Show Low, Ariz., where she spent the last months of her life.
Janet is survived by her children, Laura Kornelis (Tom), of Poulsbo, Wash.; Linda Lockett (Joe, deceased), of Show Low, Ariz.; and Jim Burke (Jodi), of Spokane; grandchildren Mason, Chris and Simon Kornelis; Sage and Laura Chandler; Ashley Clarke, Daisy Shustoff and Colton Burke; and 12 great-grandchildren (and counting). In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Cliff Wasem, who was also one of her closest friends.
A family memorial is being planned for the spring in Clarkston.
After Roy’s passing, Janet enjoyed hearing one of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren recite “Grandma’s Gone,” a poem that Roy wrote when Janet went to be with their daughter, Laura, when her third son was born. Inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Lonesome,” the poem ends with:
“Yes, I guess I’ll have to confess, I’m feeling mighty blue, since grandma went to Bainbridge to spend a week or two. But, I know her going is worth it — she left me twice before — for each time we got a grandchild, to cherish, love and adore. But, I can’t help being lonesome — and, Grandma, I love you — since you flew to Bainbridge, to spend a week or two.”
Janet Wasem Burke was born in Lewiston, Oct. 7, 1929, to Weldon and Laura (Dustan) Wasem. The family owned furniture stores and drugstores in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley — including the namesake Wasem’s Drug, in Clarkston.
As a girl, Janet was outside often, playing at her Dustan grandparents’ home at the bottom of the Clarkston Heights hill and in the wheat fields at the Wasem family’s original homestead, near Culdesac. She was in Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire) and Job’s Daughters. She was also an active musician; she played piano and cello and sang in the choir. She used to say that she and her friends would buy every new piece of sheet music that arrived at Hirzel’s in Lewiston. At Christmas one year she sang a new Irving Berlin song no one had heard, “White Christmas.”
Janet was a proud Clarkston Bantam, a varsity cheerleader who kept the school’s Mascot in her grandma Wasem’s yard. She famously jumped on the back of a Lewiston Bengal who was trying to steal the Rooster. She attended Washington State College (now WSU) and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. It was at WSU that she was introduced to one of her brother Cliff’s fraternity brothers, Roy Burke. They were married Sept. 7, 1950, in Lewiston.
After Janet and Roy graduated from WSU, they moved to Detroit, where Roy worked for Stouffer’s Restaurants and Janet used her home economics degree to work for a major gas company. After three years in Detroit, they moved to the Lewis Clark Valley, where Roy began developing his retail furniture business. Janet and Roy later owned several furniture stores, which were operated by Roy. They included Burke’s Furniture in Clarkston, Furniture Center in Moscow, Surplus Furniture in Clarkston, Berger-Mace Furniture in Lewiston and Wasem’s Furniture in Clarkston.
In the Burke Clarkston home, overlooking the Lewis Clark Valley, Janet created an oasis for her family and friends that was filled with laughter and unconditional love, where plates were piled high, drinks were re-filled quickly and stories were re-told often. The home’s bedrooms were constantly filled — and overflowed onto the home’s couches and floors — with children and grandchildren who stayed long and often.
Janet loved Clarkston and enjoyed exploring the Western United States to see her children and grandchildren. She and Roy traveled to Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and all over Washington State — often with a horse, grand piano or both — helping family settle into new homes or to watch their grandchildren play music and sports.
Janet and Roy were together, in love, and in Clarkston, until Roy’s death in 2007. In 2009, Janet began a new chapter in her life, when she moved to Spokane to be closer to family. She took up residence at Touchmark on the South Hill and became a fixture of the community, creating new friends whom she loved dearly. In May, she moved to Show Low, Ariz., where she spent the last months of her life.
Janet is survived by her children, Laura Kornelis (Tom), of Poulsbo, Wash.; Linda Lockett (Joe, deceased), of Show Low, Ariz.; and Jim Burke (Jodi), of Spokane; grandchildren Mason, Chris and Simon Kornelis; Sage and Laura Chandler; Ashley Clarke, Daisy Shustoff and Colton Burke; and 12 great-grandchildren (and counting). In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Cliff Wasem, who was also one of her closest friends.
A family memorial is being planned for the spring in Clarkston.
After Roy’s passing, Janet enjoyed hearing one of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren recite “Grandma’s Gone,” a poem that Roy wrote when Janet went to be with their daughter, Laura, when her third son was born. Inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Lonesome,” the poem ends with:
“Yes, I guess I’ll have to confess, I’m feeling mighty blue, since grandma went to Bainbridge to spend a week or two. But, I know her going is worth it — she left me twice before — for each time we got a grandchild, to cherish, love and adore. But, I can’t help being lonesome — and, Grandma, I love you — since you flew to Bainbridge, to spend a week or two.”