Richard (Dick) Burke (June 4, 1934 – March 9, 2008)
/ref> was the co-founder of Trek Bicycle Corporation. Trek is known among cyclists for making the bikes that Lance Armstrong rode in his Tour de France victories.

Early history

Burke was born in Chicago in 1934 and moved to Milwaukee when he enrolled at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

. After graduating, he worked for several companies including an appliance distribution business.

Trek Bicycle

In December, 1975, Richard (Dick) Burke and Bevil Hogg established Trek Bicycle as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roth Corporation, a

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

-based appliance distributor. In early 1976, with a payroll of five, Trek started manufacturing

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

touring frames in Waterloo, Wisconsin, taking aim at the mid to high-end market do by Japanese and Italian made models.

Family

Burke is survived by his wife Camille, five children and nine grandchildren.Obituary
/ref> Two of his children are John Burke, the current president of the company he founded, as well as Mary Burke a former executive at Trek Bicycle Corporation and Democratic candidate for

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

in the 2014 election. Mr. Burke’s first marriage, to Elaine Sachs, ended in divorce. Besides his son, of Madison, Wis., Mr. Burke is survived by his wife, Camille; four daughters, Mary Burke; Kathleen Seiberlich, Michele Deubel, and Sharon Jonas; a stepbrother, Mike Trizil of Chicago; and nine grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Richard 1934 births 2008 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Milwaukee Marquette University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople