---

Your light has always burned so bright to me, from the early days of us living near to each other, to your support for our travels in dangerous places, to our long talks on the phone about local and world politics and ideas and stories, to your time in Bette’s house (when I felt those lights, too), to these very days when I know you and Julie are living each day to the fullest. Your light burns bright, Jack. I am so grateful to be in neighborly relation to that light and to carry it with me. Thank you. Alicia

A good Jack tale, winding through two or three continents, cruel circumstances, bits of luck, half-whispered secrets, outrageous dark laughter.  I’ve been missing all of it.  Good karma, Jack, on all your future travels!  Jeff

Jack, I feel so grateful to know you, to have been a tiny part of your path.  That is a treasure for me. I bow to you, from my heart.  I will never forget you. Vicki

…..I visited Castine and THE MOST PERFECT ROOM I’VE EVER HAD A BEER IN. It remains one of my favorite rooms on the planet…… I think it was a Czech beer.  I didn’t have the pleasure of your company that night, but I had the distinct privilege of spending time in a friend’s wildly creative work of art.  I’ve never been in a room that reflected so perfectly its creator. Nick

Your courage and good humor through more recent difficult times are among your greatest achievements; and they are an inspiration to me. Sam

Julia and I love you so much and are so thankful that we got to spend the years that we did with you in our lives. We both hope you know what an amazing role model you have been for the two of us and will continue to be for the rest of our lives. Jackie and Julia

I wanted to thank Jon for me and my son for being a friend, a family member, but maybe even more importantly for making us better people by simply sharing himself with us. I want Jon to know how much he means to us and how much we love him. But I want Jon to know there is no such thing as a good bye, we’ll just see you later. And until that day comes you will be with us.  Jamie and Jamie

We have witnessed you facing your challenging illness with grace and even humor—which you never seemed to lose—and that is an inspiration to us. I hope that when my time comes, as it comes to all of us, that I can be half as positive, engaged and ALIVE as you have been. Mark

Yours, Jack, is a life well and fully lived, full of adventure, discovery, education, social engagement, politics, travel, and then renewal and regeneration. From many continents back to Maine, from the depths and soul of many countries in Africa back to Castine, your life has negotiated and interrogated life at its essence – likely more so than any of us singularly or combined. Many of us have ‘scrapbooks’ of our times on earth. Instead, yours, those memories, many of them chronicled in the very best room in the United States, the Bar at the Pentagoet, are a true portfolio of those things you’ve sought out and engaged, interrogated and embraced with the fullness of time. James

Jack, what I want to say to you is how much I value your generosity, your consideration, your graciousness and always your humor. Your humor is displayed, along with your sense of history, on the walls of your bar room. What an imagination!…….. Are you sure Graham Greene didn’t invent you? There can be no successor to you in this community, Jack, or in my life. I am so happy to know a truly irreplaceable man. Godspeed.  Peter

Your charm, your stories, your enthusiasm and your zest for life have enhanced so many lives. Every conversation with you leaves us with a smile, new knowledge or a challenge. And along with this is always the love, the caring that you radiated.  Roxanne

I count myself lucky that I had the chance to talk to him and learn your amazing story as innkeepers. The industry has lost a true hero. Kathleen, HM

……..  Brilliant, handsome, well-spoken, gracious—even courtly, full of endless anecdotes, strange lore, arcane history and the gossip of the day, of the village…. ..NEVER has there been a more consummate host than Jack Burke!   Nor a more beloved one……. Nobody is a wallflower in Jack’s bar. Though if you WERE a literal wallflower in the Pentagoet Bar, you’d be in damn good company…among politicians, dictators, philosophers, artists, writers, film stars, and iconoclasts of all kinds…..but EVERYBODY is interesting, or that’s what Jack seems to think, and once he starts listening to you (intently, with those big dark Omar Sharif eyes) …well, hey! You find yourself pretty interesting, too.….  Lee

I have been lucky to know you. It brings me immense joy to know that I will never forget you. And no matter what anyone says, I can say that the following is indisputably true: Jack Burke. Cocksman. Swashbuckler. Seafarer. Adventurer. Raconteur. Humanitarian. Friend.  A Life. Lived……Chris

You occupy a very unique, special place in my heart and mind — a place of intellect, mystery and playfully ironic humor.  Your creativity has sculpted my and Susan’s favorite place to have a drink and eat a meal. Your gift of the bar is the womb of many mysteries and tales of a conflicted world.  While it talks to me of both real and imagined exploits, in sum it creates a complexity that announces you as one of “the world most interesting men”! Thank you for your gift; you are a gift. Neil

My life was enriched by every evening I spent at Pentagoet. Jack was sui generis — one of a kind — and Castine is a lesser place for his absence, as is the rest of the world he travelled. My deepest sympathies go out to Julie and his extended family and friends. I raise a parting glass to you, Jack. https://youtu.be/Lum-2ejJPrI   Bill

No one can say that you did not drink a full cup Jack. You are a remarkable guy. Over the years you have shared your wonderful self and tales of your amazing adventures with us—and for this we are eternally grateful.  Eli and Elizabeth

Thanks for making the world just a little more magical……Katie

The circle of life, an inspiring tribute to a one-of-a-kind man.  Cassandra

Castine without Jack is so hard to imagine. He was, however, so much bigger in life than most and so will live in our hearts and, I dare say, in our imaginations, for as long as we walk through this life.  Ruth and John

This makes me so sad. I spoke with Jack several times throughout the years and he was always kind, generous and appreciative of the work MOT does to promote the state. He is the perfect example of why visitors come back to Maine again and again.  Charlene

If you would like to add a comment please forward to stay@pentagoet.com