William Swift Berry

Ever since they met at an eighth-grade birthday party in their hometown of Placerville, California, Bill’s wife, Sandra Kaye Berry (nee Winje), has been by his side, a lifelong partner in everything. Sandra, their four daughters (Genevieve, Heather, Julianne, and Alison), ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren will forever remember Bill as a strong, generous, loyal, and selfless man who prioritized his family above all else.

His family plans to hold a private celebration of his life in the North Carolina mountains that he so loved; his grandfather, Swift Berry, was an original student of the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah, NC, and Bill, as a third generation forester having had a long career in the forest products industry and a continual love of the outdoors, served as Chairman of the National Tree Farm System and Chair of the North Carolina Tree Farm Program during several years of his very active retirement. Prior to retirement, in addition to many other endeavors, Bill was the Executive Vice President of Forest Resources and Wood Products for Rayonier, Inc., a trustee of the American Forest Foundation, and an entrepreneurial owner of a small sawmill in Northern California.

In lieu of other memorials, the family asks for donations to the North Carolina Tree Farm Program. The world will forever be a little bit brighter due to Bill and those of us he touched -- now the heavens shine a little brighter too. As his surviving brothers Phil and Joe can tell you, Bill was truly another “man to match our mountains.”

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Berry family.