Longtime Vernon radio voice falls silent
Published 5:30 am Tuesday, September 22, 2026
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
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He had a voice made for radio.
And Paul Burke put his set of pipes to great use across Canadian airwaves.
Burke, former morning man in Vernon at CICF AM radio (now The Ranch FM), died Sept. 15, one month shy of his 80th birthday.
Born in Lindsay, Ont., Burke spent much of his life sharing his voice, his stories, and his love of radio with the community.
At one point, in the early 2000s, Burke’s voice could be heard on as many as 30 different radio stations around Canada and the world, thanks to the then relatively new technology of voice tracking (recording speaking segments and emailing to stations to be programmed into computers).
He did this from the basement studio of his Vernon condo that he shared at the time with his then-wife and three kids. It would take Burke just a few hours to record all of his shows.
Burke was the longtime voice of City Furniture radio advertisements.
When he wasn’t broadcasting, Burke was an active member of Trinity United Church, where he could be found volunteering his time behind the church’s soundboard.
He also practiced jiu-jitsu, sharing what he learned with others while teaching self-defence lessons.
Burke – who reported to his morning show daily with his breakfast safely packed away in a lunch kit that elementary students would take to school, such as with a Charlie Brown or Scooby-Do motif – loved movies. He’d happily spend hours watching his ever-increasing DVD collection.
When not watching a movie, Burke could be found watching his beloved Vancouver Canucks on TV while eating a bowl of cashews, or engrossed reading a Steven King novel.
Burke will be sorely missed by his three daughters, Amanda, Emily, and Julia, his sister, Nora, and former wife and good friend, Kristy, as well as those whose lives he touched through his work, love for community, and that unmistakeable voice.
A Celebration of Burke’s life will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Trinity United Church, starting at 12 p.m.