BY LIVI WELCH
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY —
When an important figure in the community retires, it is a typical bittersweet goodbye. But few will be missed as much as Jan Burke, the now-former director of human resources of DHR in Lee County.
Burke was born and raised in Tallapoosa County, where she attended Tallapoosa Academy in Dadeville. In 1982, she earned her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama — “the other school,” as she called it.
Marrying her husband and Opelika local, Randy, convinced her to make this neck of the woods her home, she said.
“I came to Opelika [when I was] growing up, but I knew little about it,” Burke said. “When I moved here with Randy, we never reconsidered leaving. It never crossed our minds.”
Soon, Burke began her career with the Alabama Department of Human Resources. After spending a year as a child welfare worker, she moved to working with adult services and was eventually promoted to a supervisory position. Then, Burke became the program supervisor before taking on the role as assistant director of human resources. In 2006, Burke became the director of the Lee County DHR, where she would serve for 17 years.
Helping the county flourish for so long has left Burke with a lot to be proud of, she said. However, she said she feels proudest of watching the individuals she trained and worked with grow on their own.
“These people [are] fine, hard-working people,” she said. “You know they got it and they are making a difference. It’s been a privilege to see them go out and make a difference.”
Now retired, the world is Burke’s oyster. Though she and her husband do have plans to travel down the coast in August, she’s not planning on gallivanting across the world just yet. Right now, her two grandchildren, Anna Bella Burke and William Burke III, will have her full focus, she said.
“As of [my last day,] Friday afternoon, you can find me with those children,” she said with a smile.
Retirement brings significant changes in Burke’s life, but she said it’s the little things that she will cherish the most.
“I think I’m going to enjoy doing nothing,” she said. “Drinking that second cup of coffee. The job that I did was very regulated. I’m going to have to learn to relax.”
Though no longer working, Burke still feels that she might not be done helping the county, she said.
“If I decided to do anything else, I would look at [working with] the nonprofits, since I was on the board for a lot of them,” she said. “Seeing what they have done for foster children has been such a blessing.”
In total, Burke spent 41 years working for the DHR. Her dedication to Lee County will be missed.
