Isaac and Henrietta had come from New York City for a brief stay with the Volks. Both of the Burk daughters (Mildred and Miriam) were married, and both of the Burk sons were in the Army but not in combat units (Harold--my Dad--was in Europe, and his brother Sidney was in Hawaii). Just 10 months earlier, Isaac's US naturalization had been finalized and he had taken the oath of citizenship. Now, because Hilda lived in Washington, she joined her first cousins for a day out (thanks to Cuz Lois for identifying Hilda!).
Sadly, tragedy struck the very next day. On October 8, 1943, Grandpa Isaac suffered a heart attack and died in the Rodman Street home of the Volks. This must have been a terrible time for the family, compounded by the fact that neither of Isaac's sons could return from their wartime duties to attend the funeral.
Tracing Isaac's place and date of death was the first genealogical research I undertook in the 1990s. It took years to find out what happened--and once I learned about the close relationship between the Burks and the Volks, I gained a wonderful new constellation of cousins and valuable new insight into my family's background.
