Obituary

Burke, David, Mrs. (Marie Louise Doucette)

Marie Louise Doucette returned to the Lord on March 16, 2019 in Plainview, Texas at the age of 49 and she lived a full life.

Marie was born in Queens, NY on December 17, 1969. The family moved to the Bronx, NY and Coudersport, Pennsylvania before settling in New City, NY, where Marie spent most of her childhood and graduated from Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, NY.

Marie was always very artistically inclined. She initially went to college at SUNY Oneonta having a great college experience and making many friends. But to fulfill her potential and her passion for art, Marie transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the world?s finest art schools. She earned a fine arts degree in Illustration from RISD and had many memorable experiences at the school. After graduation, Marie married her college sweetheart, David Burke, and started working in the field of graphic design, eventually focusing on book cover designs. She worked for book publishers such as St. Martin?s Press in New York City before deciding to move west to find fun and adventure in the mountains of Colorado. While living in the Denver area, she worked for the Denver Post and the Denver Art Museum, designing marketing and publicity materials.

Marie was always a passionate, loyal person and after witnessing the events of 9/11 and the impact the tragedy had on her native New York, she moved back east and settled in Brooklyn, NY. Marie designed book covers for Fine Communications in NYC. One of her major accomplishments was redesigning the book covers for Barnes & Noble?s Remastered Classics series.

Marie had a variety of interests. She, of course, loved books and reading. She loved to write, publishing her life?s journey and viewpoints on a blog entitled Illuminations. In her blog, she quoted James Baldwin on the topic of books who said: ?It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.?

In addition to books and reading, she created many works of art from paintings to illustrations, including writing and illustrating children?s books called ?Animals I Know? and ?The Isle of the Dragonfly,? respectively. She was an avid photographer. And later in life, Marie trained in martial arts, even competing in a tournament at the Jacobs Javits Center in NYC.

Marie enjoyed traveling and seeing the world. In college, she travelled throughout Europe. While working in publishing, she spent a few months living in Germany on an assignment. Along with many family members she traveled to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National parks where she participated in hiking, biking, camping out and white-water rafting. On another family trip, she toured Ireland.

Marie always had a love for animals, especially her childhood dog, Snowflake, and her faithful Denver and Brooklyn companion, Teddy.

Marie had a sharp, perceptive sense of humor, which remained keen throughout her courageous battle with glioblastoma over the past year. Her strong religious beliefs and Catholic faith sustained her throughout her life.

Marie is survived by her mother, Diane of New City, NY, her father and step-mother, Jim and Denise of Lockney, TX, her brothers Bernard (Ann Marie) of Chatham, NJ, Jim (Tracey) of Old Greenwich, CT and Patrick of Lockney, TX, her nephews Brendan, Jimmy and Matthew and her niece Jane.

A mass celebrating Marie?s life will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Plainview on March 19 at 10:30 am to be immediately followed by a reception at the First United Methodist Church in Lockney. Arrangements are under the care of Kornerstone Funeral Directors in Plainview, Texas.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Santa Fe Place in Plainview and Area Community Hospice of Plainview for their extraordinary, loving care of Marie during her final months.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marie may be made to Area Community Hospice, 4300 Olton Road, Plainview TX 79072 or your favorite charity.