Ray Berry

Ray Lewis Berry of rural Pardeeville passed away on March 27, 2023 at the home of his daughter surrounded by his loving family. Ray was born April 29, 1931 in Hopedale, OH to Mary Thompson Berry.

Ray endured a number of hardships growing up which made him the strong and resourceful man he was admired for. At the age of four, he went to live with his Aunt Carrie and Uncle Clyde. There he attended school through the 8th grade. Although not technically old enough to, he then went to work in the coal mines of Ohio to help out financially. As a young man, he got on his motorcycle to travel the United States, search for work and see what the future might bring him – all with a total of $34.00 to his name. On a tip that there was work at a dairy farm, he headed to Lodi, WI which is where he would meet the love of his life, Janice Falk. Ray served his country from 1951-1953 during the Korean conflict and was honorably discharged as a Corporal in the US Army. On June 7, 1953 he was united in marriage to Janice Falk at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bluffton, IN. Their hard work, love and unwavering commitment to each other and family was an inspiration to all.

Ray wore many hats, but his most important roles were husband, father and grandfather. Throughout his life, he farmed, owned a Texaco gas station, and for the last of his working years was an over the road truck driver.  He was an excellent self-taught mechanic and could fix anything and shared this knowledge with grandsons Geoff and Pat. One of his goals was that his family would understand the value of education and set the example for all of us by earning his GED from MATC, which he was very proud of. Ray was preceded in death by his loving wife, Janice, parents and siblings, June Berry, Roberta Pope, Nancy Saffel, Judy Owens, Wilma Robertson, Leroy Berry and Robert Berry. He is survived by his sister Marjorie Hartline.

Ray will be sadly missed by his daughters; Lydia (Bruce) Milne, Pleasant Prairie, Wi and Ruthanne (Michael) Curtis, Tomahawk, WI; grandchildren, Geoffrey (Julie) Milne, Patrick (Kristin) Milne, Lacey (Andrew) Hammond, Elaine (Richard) Reiter and Aimee (James) Karls; great grandchildren, Claire, Logan, Nora, Olivia, Gwendolyn, Lillian, Oliver, Natalie and Elliott. 

A memorial celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 1 PM at Grasse Funeral Home in Pardeeville. Visitation will be held from 11 AM to the time of service with military honors The family wishes to express their gratitude to Aurora at Home Hospice for their compassionate care of Ray in his final days. Memorials may be made to Aurora at Home Hospice, 116 N Dodge St., Burlington, WI 53105.We are sad to say good-bye, but whenever you and Mom visited us and it was time to go, you would say, well, we better be “get to getting home”. That is exactly what you did. You went home to be with Mom. We love and miss you every day and please give mom a big hug for us.

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