ANTIOCH — Elizabeth "Lisa" Burke was the type of person who comforted those who were hurting through prayer and kindness, according to loved ones.

Friends called the minister's wife a "prayer warrior" because she took the healing power of prayer seriously. The Antioch resident would have turned 60 on Mother's Day but was killed in a three-vehicle crash on the Highway 4 bypass in Brentwood this week.

"If somebody had a need, she would be there quietly to lend whatever help she could. It sounds like she was a saint, but she was," said longtime friend and Antioch resident Kathleen Jensen.

Burke was on the way home Wednesday from her teaching job in Brentwood and Oakley, where she worked with severely handicapped students, when her Toyota Camry was hit head-on by a delivery truck that had crossed the center line.

She was also a beloved Sunday school teacher at Antioch's New Hope Community Church, where her husband, Mike Burke, was pastor emeritus.

She was the mother of four adult children and one grandchild. The Burke family has lived in Antioch for many years, and Mike Burke is also a counselor at Golden Hills Community Church in Brentwood.

"They are very well-connected, not just with us but with the entire community," New Hope lead Pastor Brian Brown said. "They are so involved in Christian work that there was a struggling church in Brentwood that they helped out. They have a real heart for people and their relationship

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with God."

Brown described Burke as compassionate, thoughtful and sharp.

He added that the tragedy has brought the New Hope church community together, and that Sunday's service will be very challenging.

According to Jensen, her good friend was very organized with a great sense of humor.

She remembered that Burke hated the confines of shoes and preferred her sandals as soon as spring weather arrived each year.

"She was the kind of woman that you would go: 'Why would this happen to her?'" Jensen said.

Her family is close and in shock about her death, she added. According to Jensen, the Burkes formed strong ties with the Antioch community through many friendships with local residents.

Burke valued her work as a special education teacher, Jensen said. She would take her students on special field trips and work on art projects with them.

"She was such a caretaker and just loved watching the kids light up," she said.

"These are kids that would never be in a regular classroom."

Services for Burke will be held at Golden Hills at 5 p.m. Thursday. Brentwood police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Reach Paula King at 925-779-7189 or pking@bayareanews group.com.