Desiree (Rae) Berry, age 97, a longtime Skagit County resident passed away Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at Birchview Memory Care in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. She was born January 10, 1915 in Needham, County of Norfolk, England to Louis and Catherine (Fraser) Butcher.
In 1919, Rae sailed through the icebergs of the North Sea with her parents to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and then via train to Hayfield, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1921, Rae’s father became an Anglian missionary and the family moved to a remote Indian wilderness village in Grand Rapids, Manitoba. Rae’s mother taught her to read using the Bible, English Masters, and Charles Dickens. It was here she began her lifelong love of books. Rae’s father was then assigned to Ft. Chipewyan, Alberta near the Northwest Territory reaching the village via canoe and Indian guide down the Athabasca River. Later the family also lived in Edmonton, Calgary, Banff, and Vancouver, B.C.
In 1925, when Rae was 10, the family came to America, arriving in Bellingham, Washington. They later lived on Whidbey Island where Rae graduated from high school. Rae met her husband Fred Berry while visiting her brother in Marblemount. They were married in 1935 in Oak Harbor and in 1942 they moved to the Seattle City Light Diablo Camp where Fred worked for the U.S. Forest Service as the Diablo Ross Lake Fire Guard. They raised their family in the North Cascades and lived the summers at the Ross Lake Guard Station. Rae became a U.S. citizen in 1943. She loved hiking in the North Cascades and was very active in Diablo Camp life, making many lifelong friends. She attended dances in Newhalem and loved to dance in the ballrooms in Seattle.
In 1951, Rae moved to Mount Vernon and also lived in Bay View and Burlington. She enjoyed working as a clerk at National Fruit Canning Co. until retiring. She was a member of the Daughters of the British Empire for about 40 years and was active in the Skagit Valley Hospital Guild and Salem Lutheran Church. In her seventies, she returned to school and received her A.A. degree from Skagit Valley College. She spent many happy years in their beach cottage at Bay View entertaining friends, relatives, and her grandchildren. She enjoyed swimming in Padilla Bay, walking every day, and canoeing along the shore. All her life she enjoyed the beauty of the Skagit Valley and the North Cascades. She had many passions in life including, hand stitching quilts, crossword puzzles, gardening, hand written letters, and traveling to far-away places such as Scotland, England, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Caribbean and Hawaii. She never had to be talked into a leisurely visit with family and friends over a cup of tea and a “wee bun”.
Rae is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth L. Berry of Sedro-Woolley and her son, Howard F. Berry and his wife Julie of East Wenatchee. Five grandchildren, Deanna Johnson and her husband Dan Motoki, Kerry Pfaltzgraff and her husband John Jacobson, David Berry and his wife Debbie, and Randal Berry and his wife Beth. Four great-grandchildren, Colt Bristow, Randy Bristow, Daniel Berry, Donald Berry, and a great-great-grandchild, Mackensie Berry. A sister-in-law, LaVon Bucher of Kirkland. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Fred in 2000, and three brothers, Ted, George, and Wilfred.
The family is forever grateful to the staff of Birchview Memory Care in Sedro-Woolley for their loving care of Rae each and every day. Memorials are suggested to a charity of your choice.
Graveside Services will be Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 12:00PM at the Sedro-Woolley Union Cemetery 1392 Wicker Rd with Pastor Jennifer Schultz of Salem Lutheran Church officiating. A memorial luncheon will follow directly after the services at LA Conner Flats, 15980 Best Rd Mount Vernon.
I worked at Birchview while pregnant with my daughter and had the pleasure of regularly spending time with Mrs. Berry. She was a wonderful woman to talk with and amazingly sweet and considerate of others. I can’t even begin to count the number of times she tried to convince me to sit down and relax and let her fix me some tea or to share stories with me of her own children. It’s not often you meet someone so genuinely loving and concerned with the well being of others. I am very grateful to have known Rae and will always remember her fondly.