Mr. James Francis Burke

August 10, 1965 - April 30, 2020

James Francis Burke Beloved Son and Brother NASHUA, NH -- James Francis Burke, (1965-2020), passed away on April 30, 2020 in Nashua, NH. An ardent and lifelong opponent of communist terror, he grew up in a family led by a career Navy man serving on ballistic missile carrying subs, including involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and a mother who had worked at Bells Labs on the Safeguard anti-ballistic missile system. He worked at the defense policy think tank Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis. (IFPA) from 1988-1990. He was a published authority on the intelligence history of events in Eastern Europe in 1989-1991 and the “capital markets intelligence” industry, including articles in Intelligence & National Security (including the widely cited work “Romanian and Soviet Intelligence in the December Revolution”), the International Journal of Intelligence & Counter-Intelligence, and World Affairs. James met with active dissidents inside the Soviet empire in 1986 (Latvia), was briefly interrogated by the KGB in Leningrad, and later drafted an influential article while at IFPA on U.S. policy options for promoting the independence of the Baltics. In college he also played a key role in a protest that sparked a movement that led to the rolling back of a leftist totalitarian “speech code” at Tufts University (a movement he was later informed had helped inspire the founders of FIRE [thefire.org]). James also drafted briefs for the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court for his brother in John B. Burke v. United States against the efforts of the DoJ in 2001-2005 to fabricate a range of precedents to nullify a wide range of 4th, 5th and 6th amendment protections- and establish the first formal thought crime prosecution by broadening applicability of the Hobbs Act to not require an overt act. It was a highly politicized case due to his brother’s “right-wing” thought and purported associations. A graduate of Portsmouth Abbey School, Tufts University, and the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, he later played a key role in the development of the “capital markets intelligence” industry, including work as the Director of Research at Thomson Financial’s CDA/Equity Intelligence unit and later as VP- Research at the American Stock Transfer & Trust Company’s AST Fund Solutions business. He also worked in 1999-2001 as part of the management team (Dir. Strategy) of the American Management Association- advancing what James believed is the superiority of the “American Way of Business.” His late mother was Maura Ann Burke (of New York, NY) while his father was Franklyn E. Burke III (of New York, NY). He is survived by his brother John Brian Burke. A private graveside service and burial will take place at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Lowell, MA. ARRANGEMENTS BY THE FAY McCABE FUNERAL DIRECTORS 978-459-9222 www.faymccabe.com