Flying and Dreaming with

Burke died June 17, 1997, because a disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
claimed his earth life. But Burke wanted people to know that his spirit lives --
 I can feel his presence now --  laughing, soaring, flying!

	"Hey Dad," Burke said excitedly in the spring of 1997 as he placed a tape 
in the recorder, "you gotta' hear this song -- it's my favorite song."
	I sat and listened as Celine Dion's mellow voice sang the song
"Fly" from her tape entitled "Falling Into You:"

Fly, fly little wing,
fly beyond imagining,
the softest cloud, the whitest dove,
upon the wings of Heaven's love,
past the planets and the stars,
leave this lonely world of ours,
escape the sorrow and the pain,
and fly again...

	Burke explained that Celine wrote the song in memory of her
niece, Karine, who died of Cystic Fibrosis.
	"That's a beautiful song," I said, tears filling my eyes. I knew and I
think Burke knew that he didn't have much time left. I think he wanted 
me to know that it was OK, that dying is nothing more than an
even greater form of living. I found later that he played the song for
his two brothers, Brian and Brett; for his mother and stepfather; for his
friends, as well as for his stepmother, Linda and I  -- all the people he
loved.
	Shortly afterwards Burke received a letter from Gary Lowenthal, of
the Boyds Collection, saying they were naming a Boyds bear after
him, Burke P. Bear. Unknown to Burke, two of his friends had written
a letter to Lowenthal telling him of Burke's CF and his collection of
close to 150 Boyds bears which he'd gathered over the past six years.
	Burke was ecstatic about the honor; however, Burke P. Bear
wasn't going to be available until the fall of 1997, and Burke's health
began failing in late May. His friends sent an urgent plea to
Lowenthal, "Can you somehow get a Burke P. Bear here real fast?"

The Boyds staff put great pressure on their factory in China to get the
original sample to the United States. The one and only prototype sample was
delivered to the hospital about a week before Burke died, and the young man
who was voted 'Most Spirited' by his high school graduating class was overjoyed, telling his friends he was "the now famous Burke P. Bear."

Lucinda Marks, a local retailer in Lewisburg, PA, had agreed to give
Pennsylvania Cystic Fibrosis. Inc. (PACFI), $1 for each Burke P. Bear she
sold and her idea began flying after Burke left us. We founded PACFI in 1985
as an independent, non-profit, all volunteer organization dedicated to meeting
the needs of CF families and to raising funds for CF research.

	Janet Bryan put "The Burke P. Bear Story" on her Bears N' Buddies 
site http://www.bearsnbuddies.com/boyds/articles/burkesstory.htm 
and within 12 hours other retailers began signing up to give PACFI $1.00
for every Burke P. Bear they sold. Once Rosie Wells learned of Burke,
she too added his story to her web site at  http://www.rosiewells.com/burke.html
PACFI began their "Million Dollar Bear" campaign to raise 1 million for 
CF research by the end of the year 2000 (which would have
been Burke's college graduation year). PACFI plans to raise the monies
through retailers, corporate donations and through donations from
individuals and groups. Anyone interested in donating to the "Million
Dollar Bear" campaign may contact PACFI at 1-800-900-2790, by fax
at (570) 988-1942, by e-mail to bobderr@ptd.net. or by simply
sending a donation to PACFI, P.O. Box 29, Mifflinburg, PA 17844.
One hundred percent of the funds received will go to selected CF
research projects.

	Now Burke's spirit and legacy lives on in the form of Burke P.
Bear, who is raising research monies to beat the disease which took
his life. And that was one of Burke's dreams  to find a cure for CF.
We miss Burke a lot, and some days are just overwhelming, but
we have the best memories of his life, his love and his incredible
spirit. That spirit, we think, lives in the "Million Dollar Bear" campaign
which hopefully will play a part in finding a cure for CF.