Todd Eric Burke, 61, passed away on Wednesday, Feb 24, 2021 having lived through many incidents likely to cause death and seemed invincible ... until he wasn’t.  

Todd lived his own life, a life judged by many to be hard throughout, starting out with a black eye and bump on his head so severe from the forceps the hospital photographer suggested no baby photo. He developed a cross-eyed condition requiring wearing a patch over one eye, which didn’t help his depth perception that he never really regained.  He was on his own from a young age for various reasons and often made the “wrong” choices, ending up with a lifelong struggle with alcohol.

But, somewhere along the way, he had the time to teach himself to be an amazing guitar player, surprising a myriad number of people looking on his homeless exterior and being fascinated by the accomplished artist within. He also was well read, having no place to call home toward the end of his life, but always carrying around books, like a biography of Abraham Lincoln or the history of some WWII battle. He would say, “I only have two brain cells left and they are constantly arguing with each other,” yet he could speak intelligently on just about any subject. A diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse disorder didn’t prevent Todd from being the guy you would remember as being the funniest person you met in your life, the best story teller you could recall or the guy with five dollars to his name who would give all of it to another struggling person to keep them going for another day.

In the end, he died of an overdose, a miscalculation from someone whose intelligence eventually lost to the chance percentage of fentanyl. We would all wish we could have kept him from his choices, but he was someone who lived his life on the outside of our norms, sometimes wishing he could change but never enough to change, leaving behind many people who loved him for who he was, not the choices he made.

Todd is survived by his brother, Scott Burke of Windham; his sister, Heather Carson of Hallowell. 

The family will have a private celebration in the future.

We would love all those who knew Todd to honor him by donating to Milestone Recovery, Portland, ME.

Arrangements by Hobbs Funeral Home, South Portland.