Doris Hall Burke, retired English teacher and guidance counselor, died on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at College Manor in Timonium. She was 87.

Born in Princess Anne, Maryland, she was the daughter of Edward James Hall, Jr., a dairy farmer and the Somerset County Tax Assessor, and Sarah White Hall, an elementary school teacher.

Doris was a 1953 graduate of Washington High School in Princess Anne and a 1957 graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, where she majored in English. In college, as a member of the Washington Players, she appeared in several plays and traveled on military air transport planes from Dover, Delaware to perform at military bases in Iceland and the Azores. Doris served as President of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and was one of the seniors chosen for Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities . At. Graduation, she was awarded the Outstanding Student-Teacher Award and the Clark Porter Gold Medal as the student whose character had had the most positive influence on the campus.

After graduation, Doris moved to Baltimore in 1957 to be a social worker and then began a career in the Baltimore City Schools. She taught English at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School from 1958-1963. In 1972, she began teaching at Western High School, where she spent most of her career. Student nominated, she was named in Who's Who Among American Teachers . After receiving her Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Johns Hopkins, she served as a guidance counselor at Western High School until her retirement in 1997.

Friend and fellow counselor, Carol Carter, says of Doris that she "had a knack for giving exactly the right wisdom and advice to students and colleagues and could find a way to see a positive perspective about any personal or professional challenge". Western graduate, Felicia Johnson, remembers her as "a real favorite, so supportive, and everybody's cheerleader".

Doris was known as a prolific correspondent to friends and family through her signature handwritten letters and cards. She was an avid reader of works covering a wide range of topics. She took special pleasure in obtaining scarce titles of novels by Eastern Shore author, Sophie Kerr, and donated her collection to Washington College. Her retirement pastimes included solving New York Times crossword puzzles, collecting Steinbach nutcrackers, and travelling to favorite places like Asheville's Grove Park Inn and Broadway plays.

She was predeceased by her brother, Edward James Hall, III. She is survived by her son, Kevin; daughter in law, Suzanne; grandsons, Stockton and James; brother, Donald Hall; sister, Janet Barr; as well as two nieces and a nephew.

At her request, no public ceremony will be held. Contributions in her memory may be made to the beloved alma mater of her grandsons, Christ School of Arden, North Carolina, or to the Christopher McGraw Scholarship Fund of Friends School of Baltimore.