Jean Marie Burke

Our sweet Jean quietly left behind the oxygen tanks and nasal cannulas on the afternoon of March 9, following a lengthy struggle with COPD. Her family was with her as she died.

Jean was born in Omaha on September 6, 1956, the last of Bob and Bernadette Larkin Burke's five children. She attended St. Pius X Grade School and Marian High School. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1978 with a journalism degree and a crew of life-long friends -- fellow staffers for the university's student newspaper, The Gateway.

Jean worked for Union Pacific Railroad for several years as a writer for the railroad's employee magazine. She met Bob Hoppe, also a magazine writer but for a different railroad, and moved to San Francisco; they married in 1987. In California, Jean worked as a writer for Hewlett Packard's corporate communications department. Her assignments took her around the world.

Jean and Hoppe moved back to Nebraska after Kieran's birth in 1992. Jean continued to work as a freelance writer-editor for many years until she went to work as a writer for Olsson Associates. She retired in 2013 when she became disabled with COPD.

Jean was the sweetest soul. She was strong despite her fragility, always kind and ever-thoughtful despite the difficulties she endured. She loved her family and friends deeply, and we adored her.

Jean's survivors include her children, Robert Hoppe and Kieran Hoppe; her siblings and their spouses: Bob and Linda Burke, Tom and Judy Burke, Therese and Rich Bollerup, and Bill and Kate Burke; numerous adoring nieces and nephews; a wide circle of friends, especially her beloved Elephants; and former spouse, Bob Hoppe. She is predeceased by her parents and her niece, Jessica Kennedy Matthews.

Jean's family is deeply grateful to AseraCare, the Bryan West Hospice Unit, and Omaha Cremation Services. Their loving, gentle, compassionate care eased Jean's passing and gave solace to her grieving family.

We will celebrate Jean on March 29, 2026, at a gathering at the Talon Room, 230 No. 12th St., Lincoln, NE, from 1:30-3:30. Please bring your favorite memory about Jean to share with her family and other friends. Memorials in Jean's honor can be sent to the Nebraska Journalism Trust, P.O. Box 31436, Omaha, NE 68131, or to Matt Talbot Kitchen, P.O. Box 80935, Lincoln, NE 68501.