Lucy Antoinette Holcomb Burke

Birth: October 21, 1871 Reno, Nevada
Death: April 20, 1952 Reno, Nevada

Role in Women’s Suffrage: Member of the suffrage ratification committee for Nevada, and chairman of the Hays Event

HerStory: Lucy Antoinette Holcomb Burke, was a lifelong resident of Reno, Nevada. Her father, Grove Holcomb, was one of the original settlers of the Truckee Meadows. Lucy married Charles H. Burke in 1895 and they had 10 children.

Lucy was a member of the ratification committee, representing the National American Women Suffrage Association in Nevada, to convince Governor Boyle to call a Special Session in 1920 to ratify the 19th Amendment, which was called for on February 7, 1920.

On February 5, 1920, two days prior to the Special Session, Republican National Committee chairman Will H. Hays visited Reno, and Lucy was chairman of the committee planning the reception for the women members of the Hays party. The reception was held in the Twentieth Century Club at the Riverside.  Prior to the reception, the women members of the Hays party were given an automobile tour of the city and surrounding points of interest.  

Lucy Burke was Gold Star Mother of the Year for Nevada in 1947, active in the Parent-Teacher Association, the Gamma Phi Beta Mothers Club, Eta Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star and the State Federation of Women’s Clubs. She served on the Washoe County Red Cross board, the YWCA board, was a member of four garden clubs including the first garden club of Reno, the Homemakers, and held an honorary membership in the Soroptimist club. 

Lucy passed away at her Reno home at the age of 80. She is buried with her husband at Mountain View Cemetery, Reno, Nevada.