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Ellen Frances Burk, age 83, of New Castle, DE passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Born on November 23, 1942, in Wilmington, Delaware, Ellen was the daughter of the late Robert and Helen (Maloney) Gravatt. She was a proud graduate of Middletown High School, Class of 1960. Ellen dedicated 37 years of her career to the exports billing department at Hercules, Inc., retiring in 2000.
Ellen was an active member of the Hercules Women’s Club and generously gave her time volunteering with the Special Olympics. She found great joy in life’s simple pleasures, bowling with her team at Prices Lanes Bowling, walking her beloved dogs, and spending time outdoors tending to her yard.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter W. Burk, in 2000, and her daughter, Carrie Bush, in 2002.
Ellen is lovingly survived by her son, Michael Burk, and his wife, Crystalyne Mullaney, of New Castle, DE; her granddaughter, Kristi Bush; her grandson, Trevor Bush; her sisters, Evelyn Huffman and Kitty Greenwood, both of Dover, DE; her brothers, William Gravatt of Newark, DE and James Gravatt of Middletown, DE; as well as many nieces and nephews. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.
Family and friends are invited to visit on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Doherty Funeral Home, 3200 Limestone Road, Wilmington, DE 19808, where a funeral service will begin at 11:00 AM. Interment will be held privately.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ellen’s name to Faithful Friends Animal Society, 165 Airport Rd., New Castle, DE 19720, or by visiting https://faithfulfriends.us/
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ellen Frances Burk, please visit our floral store.
Faithful Friends Animal Society
165 Airport Road, New Castle DE 19720
Web: https://www.faithfulfriends.us