Overview:
Military funeral honors were held for William "Bill" Berry, Jr., a respected Army veteran and community member of Petersham, who died at the age of 82. Berry was a member of the American Legion, past post commander of Post 415, and had served as the town's flag raiser for over 35 years. He was also an active member of Petersham's Selectboard for 13 years and received the Community Citizen Award in 1997.
PETERSHAM – Military funeral honors for the late William “Bill” Berry, Jr., of Petersham, were conducted Saturday morning on the Petersham Town Common.
Berry died peacefully at his Petersham home on Wednesday, April 8. He was 82.
Saturday’s event was organized by Mark Ellis, post commander of Legion Post 415 and commandant and parade captain for the local detachment of the Marine Corps League.
“Bill was a true pillar of the community,” Ellis said. “He was past post commander of Post 415. He was a life member of the American Legion and, of course, an Army veteran. He had taken it upon himself personally to raise and lower the flag on the main flagpole every day for more years than I’ve been here….so he probably did that for 35 years, easily. He also organized Petersham’s Memorial Day parade for the Legion.”
Ellis chuckled as he recalled Berry’s service for the town’s Fourth of July parades.
“He was the chauffeur for the grand marshal – him and his Cadillac,” Ellis said, adding that Berry and his green ’67 Cadillac were a regular feature of the parade.
According to his obituary, Berry was born in Washington, D.C., and his family later moved to north-central Massachusetts. Berry graduated from Fitchburg’s Notre Dame High School in 1962. On Nov. 26, 1962, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and went on to serve in Korea. He was honorably discharged as a sergeant first class in October 1965.
An invitation from Katherine “Kay” LaPointe to attend a hayride in 1960 began a courtship that lasted until they were married in Petersham in 1964. The couple had two sons.
Berry “continued to serve the Army as a civil servant, first in Hartford, Connecticut, and then at Fort Devens, MA. Bill worked alongside his brother Ed as a surveyor for the family business, Berry Engineering,” which was founded in 1971 by his father, William “Bill” Sr., and brother-in-law William Leaders. The business was discontinued when Bill Berry, Jr., retired in 2010.
An active member of the community, Berry served 13 years on Petersham’s Selectboard and was an avid supporter and sponsor of the River Rat Race. He received the Community Citizen Award from Petersham Grange #95 in 1997.
The event on Petersham Common Saturday followed a memorial service at the First Congregational Parish, Unitarian Church. An estimated 150 people, including family, friends and community members filled the church to pay their respects.
They then exited the church and walked to the common where veterans from every branch of the service, first responders and others, waited to honor the respected community member. During the ceremony, Berry’s widow received two flags, presented in the traditional military-style fold. Taps was played by Bill Kessler and the firing squad from Athol American Legion Post 102 fired a final salute to the veteran.