It's a business that has been a part of his life since birth, where he had his first job as a young boy washing the funeral home's cars. Now, Edward Burke of Macomb is a full-time employee – and on Oct. 1, after his dad, Pat Burke, retires, will be a partner – of Dodsworth Funeral Home (DFH) in Macomb.
Burke, a 2019 Macomb High and 2023 Western Illinois University graduate, recently completed his year-long apprenticeship at DFH after graduating in January 2025 with his degree in mortuary science from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago. He is now a licensed funeral home director and embalmer, joining his dad, Eric Jameson and Ryan Thorman, also a 2019 MHS alumnus, in the family business, in which Pat and Eric's father, the late Larry Jameson, bought in 1983 from the Dodsworth/Wallen family. The funeral home, what was known for many years as Dodsworth-Piper-Wallen, was established in 1927.
'I started working funerals my senior year in high school, and I knew about that time that's what I wanted to do,' the younger Burke said. 'I didn't always really know, but I figured there was a good chance I'd go into the business.'
While he somewhat knew what career path he would probably take, he still wanted to follow a traditional college route first, along with continuing his love of golf. He earned a golf scholarship at WIU, where he also majored in law enforcement. It was that degree program that will come in handy now that he's also serving as Jameson's deputy coroner for the county. After his graduation from Western, Burke went onto Worsham, where his dad, both Larry and Eric, attended.
'I really do like helping people at what might be one of the hardest times of their lives,' he shared. 'They know they can lean on us to help them.' Burke already had a pretty good sense for the business as he had learned by watching for several years, and it was something he had just grown up around. But it's the younger generation know-how that Edward and Thorman bring to the business, which helps level it up, both Pat and Jameson shared. The two newest funeral directors bring a wealth of technology-related knowledge with them, which helps make everything from writing obituaries to invoicing more efficient and proficient, Pat and Jameson added.
