Funeral Thursday for Man Who Fell 11 Stories to Death at Buckhead Condo Building

A funeral service for the man who fell 10 stories to his death, in what Atlanta Police believe to be a suicide, at a Buckhead high-rise will be held Thursday morning.

However, the death of 32-year-old Burke Boger cannot be confirmed a suicide until results from the Medical Examiner's Office have been returned.

Boger was beloved and well-known for his outgoing and energetic personality. His funeral is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 11, at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 634 West Peachtree Street NW. The Reverend Noelle York-Simmons officiating. The family will receive friends at a reception in Ellis Hall immediately following the service.

According to his obituary, Boger was educated at Westminster Schools in Buckhead, where he began performing on stage at an early age, before graduating from a high school in Alexandria, VA.

Known as being a "clothes horse," by the age of 10, Boger owned five tuxedos and even sported one at Universal Studios in Orlando in hopes of being "discovered."

His obituary reads: "Rarely in life do you encounter a person whose presence lights up a room and magnetizes those around him to establish the tone of the conversation. Burke was such a person. He possessed amazing artistic and communicative skills honed by years of performing on stage, in film and playing his inimitable harmonica, self-taught by his grandfather, with many local bands and groups."

In addition to his theatrical and musical talent and achievements, Boger will be most remembered for his fun and caring spirit.

"He was a living, breathing, Atlanta institution. He touched so many lives, and brought smiles and laughter with him everywhere he went," stated friends Rick Hazen and Spencer Reid.

Boger began his career in improvisational theatre and paid for his passion by waiting and bartending at restaurants. His restaurant contacts eventually led him to a job in real estate with Jenny Pruitt & Associates and Sotheby's Atlanta Fine Homes in Buckhead.

Rob Owen, Boger's first mentor, commented, "Burke was a man born to entertain others, who had incredible presence and was both suave and debonair. He and I often joked with and complimented each other about our selection of ties. His character and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew and worked with him."

Boger wrote at 14 in his application to Episcopal High School, where he earned his high school diploma, about a funeral of a friend's grandmother. He wrote about how sad and sullen everyone was and how he wanted his funeral to be a celebration.

Boger and his father, Richard "Dick," were "pals forever." His father stated, "Burke and I always ended each meeting or conversation with the words: 'pals forever', and that is what he will always be to me."

Boger is survived by his father, his brother Owen, nephew James Owen Boger of New York City, aunts Margaret Owen Kimberly (Dan) of Hinsdale, IL and Judith Boger Schlimpert (James) of Stillwater,OK, cousins Laura Kimberly Glosniak (Michael), Avery McNeill and Maggie Morgan Glosniak of Chicago,  and Katherine Burke Kimberly of Boulder, CO, along with a bevy of close friends and business associates.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations in Burke's name be made to: Harriet O. Boger Fund, The Andrew McKelvey Lung Transplant Center, Emory University Hospital, c/o James Owen, Director of Development, 1365-B Clifton Road, Room 1403, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322; or Theatre Department, Office of Development, Episcopal High School, 1200 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22302; or to an organization of your choice.