William R. Burk papers, 2005-2010

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Summary

Creator:
Burk, William R.
Abstract:
William (Bill) Burk is a retired botany librarian, formerly at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The collection consists of a series of journals, handwritten with items pasted and tipped in, documenting Burk's care of his mother, Lillian Marie Renstrom Burk, in the last years of her life.
Extent:
2.1 Linear Feet
20 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00177

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains 12 journals kept by William Burk about his visits to his mother, Lillian Marie Renstrom Burk, while she was a resident at Chapel Hill Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. The journals are handwritten: 11 of them are in composition-style notebooks, while the earliest is on a yellow notepad. The dates range from July 2005 through June 2008.

In the journals, Burk meticulously documented every interaction with his mother, including his near-daily visits to her at the nursing home; her diagnoses, appointments, and medications; her reports to him about her mood, her activities, and her feelings; his observations about the care given to her and fellow residents of the center; his interactions with the nurses, doctors, and staff; and his thoughts and feelings about his overall visit each day. Burk also added email printouts, letters, cards, and other correspondence or materials next to each day's journal entry. These have been tipped-in to the book or glued on its pages. Burk continued the journals for several weeks following Lillian's death on April 5, 2008, adding condolence notes, obituaries, funeral and cremation materials, and final invoices from various medical facilities.

Also included in the collection is an undated black-and-white portrait of Lillian in Norwalk, CT, donated in 2010 by William Burk.

Biographical / historical:

William (Bill) Burk is a retired botany librarian, formerly at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the historian for the North Carolina Academy of Science.

His mother, Lillian Marie Renstrom Burk, spent most of her life and career as a cook in Norwalk, CT. After retirement, she moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1983, to be closer to her son. After a stroke in 2005, she became a resident of Chapel Hill Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. She died peacefully on April 5, 2008.

Acquisition information:
The William R. Burk Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2010.
Processing information:

Processed by Meghan Lyon, August 2010

Encoded by Meghan Lyon, August 2010

Materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2010-0130

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Aging parents -- Health and hygiene
Aging parents -- Medical care
Hospice care -- North Carolina
Nursing home patients -- Care
Nursing homes -- North Carolina
Bereavement
Parents -- Death
Adult children of aging parents
Format:
Diaries
Names:
Nursing home care -- North Carolina
Burk, William R.
Burk, Lillian

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], William R. Burk Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1wp4r