Mr. James W. Berkley, 87 of 4325 Maple Dr. Galesburg (formerly of Gladstone) died at 9:05 AM Tuesday January 22, 2008 in Cottage Hospital.
He was born October 10, 1920 in Weldon IL the son of Robert and Grace Polen Berkley. He married Sandra A. Gould in New York on January 25, 1964. She preceded him in death on January 14, 1998.
He is survived by three daughters Amy (Phillip) Berkley-Ellis of London England, Rita (Dietrich) Berkley-Smith of Gays Mills, WI and Laura (Dwayne) Berkley- Krisko of Farnham Surrey England; one brother Robert (Barbara) Berkley of Eugene Oregon and seven grandchildren Lucy, Rowan, Jessica, Eloise, James, Ruby and Frederick. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one brother and four sisters.
He served in the Illinois National Guard during WWII.
He was a high school English teacher at the Oak Park/River Forest High School for 30 years, retiring in 1986. He graduated from Homewood-Floosmoor High school . He attended Thorton JR College in Harvey , IL and graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids , IA. He later received his Masters of Divinity at the Episcopal Seminary in Mundelein IL . He did additional studies at Harvard University . He was on the Board of Directors for Pine MT. Music Festival in Iron Mt, MI and he was a member of the Gladstone Yacht Club in Gladstone MI . He was a member of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
A Memorial Mass is scheduled for 11 AM Tuesday January 29, 2008 in St. Patricks Catholic Church. The Rev. William Miller will officiate. Visitation will be
Anonymous
Jim Berkley family
The Episcopal Church sends it’s deepest sympathy with the death of your father. Jim was active in the Episcopal Church while he was in the Rapid River-Gladstone area. He preached many sermons at Trinity Episcopal Church in Gladstone and was part of their Ministry Support Team as a preacher, organist and music coordinator in the 90’s. His involvement in the Episcopal extends back to his time as a seminarian at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge and the most recent at St. Stephen’s, Escanaba while he was at Bishop Noa and at Christian Park Center.
We will miss his wit, his knowledge and his ability to teach. Your father left an imprint on all of us and we give thanks to God for placing him into our lives.
Rayford Ray
Episcopal Missioner for The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan
Rapid River, MI
I came to know Jim and his wife Sandra after my husband Fred died, through the Petersons (Rev. Clifford and Elizabeth) who were also from Gladstone but retired in the Stonington area. He was a very kind, caring and well read person. While I didn’t see him often,I very much enjoyed listening to him tell about his past life experiences and his great love of the arts, especially through the Pine Mountain Music Festival. He was a wealth of information, a delight to be around. He will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with you, the family at this sad time.
Lenita Scholer (Sophie)
Gladstone, MI