Obituary of Mildred Berry

Mildred Berry, age 93, formerly of Cambridge, passed away on November 19, 2013 at Mount Olivet Careview Home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was born September 4, 1920 in Lima, Ohio and grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Millie grew up in adverse circumstances, the first daughter of a teenage mother. She withstood a very difficult childhood to graduate from high school in Fort Wayne and then attended junior college where she got her AA degree. She gave her life to Jesus Christ during this time and went on to attend Moody Bible Institute. She graduated from MBI in 1942 and then went to Arizona and California to work among the Okies in the migrant camps in children's ministries. In 1943 she met her future husband Burton Berry who was in the army, stationed at Minter Field in Bakersfield, California. They were married December 17th, 1944. After the war she and Burton moved to Opstead (near Isle), Minnesota, where Burton was from. They lived in Opstead from 1946 until 1969 where they raised a family of six children. She volunteered in many roles at Opstead Baptist Church. She was the church secretary, typed and mimeographed the Sunday bulletin, developed children's ministries, taught Sunday school and helped in numerous other capacities. She also volunteered in community activities, including the PTA and Band Boosters. In 1969 Mildred and Burton moved to Fox Lake, Illinois where Burt was the caretaker of Camp Hickory Bible Camp. Millie was the head cook and served hundreds of young people through the summer. They returned to Minnesota in 1974 and lived in St. Paul until 1979 when they moved back to Opstead. At Opstead Baptist, she once again threw herself into church activities and developed a thriving children's Awana program that provided Bible based activities and games each Wednesday night for many children in the community. In 1985 Burton passed away and in 1986 she married Robert Berry (Burton's widowed younger brother). They lived in Cambridge together until Bob passed away in June of 2012. During the years in Cambridge she volunteered at the Shalom clothing center, the Senior Activity Center, Meals on Wheels and was active in several Bible study groups at Cambridge Baptist Church. She spent her last four months at Mount Olivet Nursing home in Minneapolis after a stroke in May of this year. Throughout Mildred's life she devoted herself to her family and her church and to her community. She 'never knew a stranger' in that anywhere she went she immediately struck up conversations and made friends with whomever she met. She was preceded in death by husband Burton and second husband Robert. She is survived by her children James (Carol), David (Kathryn), Dale (Sherri), Arla, Paul (Kirsten), and Eileen Halls (Tom) as well as numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.