City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Susan Kilbourn Burkhard
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 78.
Died 03/09/2026.
Susan (Sue), was born to the late Alice and Richard Kilbourn on March 30, 1947 in Torrington, Connecticut. The eldest of five children, she was raised in Bantam, Connecticut. Sue was independent and inquisitive, an avid reader and dedicated Girl Scout, and enjoyed athletics and theatre arts in high school.
An excellent student, Susan obtained a scholarship to Wheelock College, in Boston Massachusetts, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Education in June of 1969. She later became one of the first 50 female graduates of the Citadel, earning a Masters of Arts in Education in May of 1973.
Sue met her future husband of 57 years, Rear Admiral (Ret) Thomas Burkhard while on an Episcopal youth mission to the Rosebud Indian Reservation. They married on June 15, 1969 and began a 40-year adventure with the U.S. Navy. She was a supportive officer’s wife and cherished the Navy ‘family’’ that she and Tom gained while stationed in Japan, South Carolina, Connecticut, California, Guam, England and Hawaii. Sue, Tom and their daughters traveled extensively throughout Asia and the South Pacific, loved Guam, and enjoyed exploring Europe while they lived in London.
Sue’s passion and professional focus was Early Childhood Education. She taught preschool in Connecticut and Guam and college students at The University of Maryland and San Diego State. For many years, she was Assistant Program Director at the San Diego Miramar College Child Development Center, teaching four year olds. Her volunteerism also centered around children-Girl Scout Leader, swim instructor, and elementary school classroom and library volunteer.
Upon retirement, Sue and Tom settled in Swansboro, North Carolina where she volunteered at the Swansboro Library and Hammocks Beach State Park, and enjoyed book club. Although her disease made mobility difficult, she never complained and was always happy to be present, greeting everyone with a smile. Her greatest joy was spending time with her five grandsons and guiding her daughters through motherhood.
Susan was a bright light, a constant calm and loving presence for her family and friends, and the heart of the home. Although we are heartbroken, we take comfort in knowing that her compassion, kindness and wonderfully warm spirit will be passed down through the children and students she mentored and guided, impacting generations to come.
Susan is survived by her husband Thomas; daughters Jenifer (Alex) Rousseau, Kate (Brandon) Neuman; siblings Patricia (Pat) Roden; David (Leslie) Kilbourn and John (Cindy) Kilbourn and her five loving grandsons Alexander and Aidan Rousseau and Thomas, Blake and William Neuman. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Debbie Kilbourn.
Susan will be laid to rest in Bantam, Connecticut and a celebration of life will occur at that later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Susan’s name to ‘Friends of The Swansboro Library’ http://friends-of-swansboro-library.mailchimpsites.com/ in honor of Susan’s love of public libraries and lifelong dedication to literacy and childhood education.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.