Jeanne Burke died on June 19, surrounded by her family. She was 64.

She was born and brought up in Boston. She discovered her love of travel and culture as a child, when her grandmother Rose took Jeanne and her siblings on a sleeper train to Washington, D,C. They visited the national monuments, the Washington Zoo and stayed in what seemed like very fancy hotels. They took a similar trip to New York city.

She moved to Miami at the age of 21 and worked, with a close partner, in the restaurant business for 10 years. When not working, she continued traveling, visiting most countries in eastern and western Europe multiple times. She drove across the United States and visited nearly all of the Caribbean islands, including Haiti during Papa Doc’s rule. She also visited Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Brazil and Australia. She loved Mykonos in Greece and spent many rejuvenating hours in the town of Nice, in southern France.

She was the first in her family to attend college. She took undergraduate courses while in Miami, returned to Boston and finished her undergraduate degree at Emerson College. She followed this with receiving a M.A. in applied linguistics through UMass Boston.

Earning a master’s degree instigated a career change, bringing her into the world of adult and higher education. She worked for two years in the office of academic support as an English as a second language specialist at Simmons College in Boston.

In 1994, she accepted a university teaching job outside of Mexico City. Here she not only fell in love with Mexico: she met the love of her life, Jose Sanabria. She returned to the United States and Jose soon followed. They lived in Somerville for two years while Jeanne taught at UMass and Boston University.

In 1999 they made their way to Martha’s Vineyard. They married in 2000 at the Chilmark home of friends. They lived for many years in Edgartown and eventually bought a small house in Oak Bluffs.

Jeanne brought her English language teaching expertise to the Martha’s Vineyard Adult Learning Program in 1999. The following year she became ESOL coordinator of the program and in 2002 she became program director. She remained as director until her retirement in 2020. During that time, Jeanne helped more than 3,000 immigrants to learn English and to understand and navigate U.S. health, immigration, employment, cultural and educational systems. Her directorship was rated as exemplary ­— the highest level — by the Massachusetts Department of Education. She also worked as a consultant creating and facilitating teacher training workshops and writing adult ESOL standards for the Massachusetts Department of Education.

Passionate about communication, language, culture and identity, immigrant rights and social justice, Jeanne also loved books, the art of writing, film, dance, music, watercolor painting, a good conversation, a strong cup of coffee, exceptional food and good wine. She was intelligent, beautiful, articulate and frequently irreverent.

More than anything, she was passionate about and in love with her family. She is survived by her husband and greatest supporter Jose Sanabria and her stepsons Xiuh and Ollin Sanabria of Oak Bluffs and Mexico City; her mother Anne Burke Silva of Vineyard Haven; her sisters and best friends Laura Burke and Janice Mackey; her younger brothers Chris, Kevin and Tom Burke; and her old older brother and Irish twin Dan Burke and his wife Marge. She also leaves her much loved nieces and nephews Abby, Jeff, Melanie and Gabriel Burke, and Jeannene and Jorge (Cocol) Sanabria; as well as many cousins and friends.

Her service will be held privately.

In lieu of flowers, please hug a loved one today.