Ruth Adele (Van Houten) Burke, 93, of Nunnawauk Meadows, Newtown, died July 8 at River Glen Health Care Center, Southbury. Mrs Burke was the wife of the late Benjamin J. Burke. She was born in Bethel, January 23, 1921, a daughter of Charlotte (Morrison) and Rudolph Van Houten.

Mrs Burke was a longtime resident of Danbury, where she owned and operated Fancy Fair Cake Kitchen. She also managed the kitchens at Hayestown and Beaver Brook Schools and was a cook for the St Rose of Lima Convent in Newtown. She was a resident of Nunnawauk Meadows for the past 19 years and was a member of the Danbury Senior center.

Her daughter Susan R. Brandolin, and her husband Ray, of Wake Forest, N.C.; a son, John J. Burke, and his wife Linda, of Brookfield; grandson Jeffrey J. McKay, and wife Kelly, of Swedesboro, N.J.; granddaughter Melissa A. Burke of Brookfield; a foster son, Robert L. Coombs of Wichita, Kan.; six great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; three brothers, Walter, Alexander, and Richard Van Houten; several nieces and nephews; and her beloved cat survive Mrs Burke. A granddaughter, Brenda S. White; three brothers, Herbert, Charles, and Rudolph Van Houten; and four sisters, Josephine Romaine, Caroline Lockwood, Charlotte Brown, and Rosalie Cranston, predeceased her.

Funeral services will be private. There are no calling hours. 

Honan Funeral Home, Newtown, is serving the family.