Sellersburg United Methodist Church, 226 North New Albany Street, Sellersburg,
Indiana, on Saturday, September 28, 2019, at 12:00 noon. The service will be conducted by the Reverend Joseph Sanford.
Wynona died on Thursday, September 12, 2019, at Clark Memorial Hospital from pneumonia, secondary to a very aggressive case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Wynona Lynn Berry was born on December 10, 1948, in Louisville, Kentucky. She
graduated from Western High School in 1966. She also graduated from Georgetown College and from the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work, earning a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) degree. Wynona became licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).
Throughout much of her life, she went by her middle name, Lynn, but for the past several years she decided to use her first name, Wynona, which was also her mother’s first name, and which means “first born daughter” in the Native American Sioux language.
During her career, Wynona worked for a number of agencies, including the Jefferson Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center (JADAC). Wynona also worked for the Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources (CHR). After retiring from CHR, Wynona worked in private practice. In later years she also worked as a substitute teacher in Indiana and
Kentucky, in customer service for the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and providing home health services through the Jewish Family and Vocational Services agency. She was still caring for clients as recently as June of this year. Throughout her career, Wynona placed emphasis on empowering her clients and respecting their right to self-determination, on identifying and addressing alcohol and substance abuse problems, and on treating depression and preventing suicide.
Wynona married Robert Douglas Schaad in Louisville’s Central Park on October 21, 1978. Although they had been separated for over twenty years, Wynona and Robert remained close friends.
Wynona grew up in the Parkwood Baptist Church, in Louisville, Kentucky. Later she was a member of the First Unitarian Church in Louisville. At the time of her death she was a member of the congregation of Sellersburg United Methodist Church. Her spiritual mentors include the late Vernon Mallon of Georgetown College and the late Robert Reed of the First Unitarian Church. Throughout her spiritual journeys Wynona always maintained a steadfast faith in God and his son Jesus Christ, and a belief that God requires us to treat all of our brothers and sisters with acceptance, tolerance, love, justice, and mercy, and that we must be better stewards of the creation that he has given us.
Wynona was proud to have been a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.
Wynona was a voracious reader who also loved to write. She loved to sing and had a beautiful, clear soprano voice. When she was younger she played the guitar and sang folk songs. In later years she concentrated on singing in church and community choirs. Problems with her voice in the last several years caused her to give up public singing. Wynona also loved to embroider, sew, and crochet. Wynona was an avid bicyclist,
and up until a few years ago she would ride her bicycle throughout Floyd and Clark Counties, and occasionally into Louisville.
Wynona was a dedicated supporter of human rights, women’s rights, social justice, and environmental preservation.
Most of all, Wynona loved her family, her friends, and the pets with which she shared her life. In her last few weeks, she was able to go for an outing at the Cat Café on Bardstown Road, and to be visited by her cat, Sarah.
Wynona was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Monroe and Judith McDowell Shields, of Fairdale, Kentucky, by her paternal grandparents Isaac and Rosa Berry, of Greensburg, Kentucky, by her mother Wynona Sue Osborne, by her father Raymond Eddard Berry, by her sister Jan Leah Hindman, by her uncles Gayle Shields, Walter Shields, Vernon Berry, and Walter Berry, by her aunts Dorotha Shields Bundy, and Avis Berry Christie, and by her nephew Michael David Schaad.
In addition to her husband, Wynona is survived by her daughter, Elaine Wynona Schaad Abanatha, and her husband Kevin Wayne Abanatha, her son Andrew Robert McDowell Schaad, and his wife Michelle Marie Robeson Schaad, by her grandchildren Andrew James Abanatha, Benjamin Michael Abanatha, Catherine Louise Abanatha, and Alexander Robert Michael Schaad. Wynona is also survived by her sister Susie Berry Comstock and her brother Raymond Engle Berry and his wife Beverly Ann Berry, and her aunt Norma Jean Swafford, and by nieces Jaime Alvey Reynolds and her husband Jeff Reynolds, Nina Berry, and Jena Berry Royster and her husband Kris Royster, by nephews Benjamin Alvey and Ryan Shaw, and by brother-in-law Phil H. Schaad III and sister-in-law Kay Skelton Schaad. She is also survived by several grand-nieces, Suzanne Katherine Reynolds, Josephine Jensen-Alvey, and Amelia Royster, and grand-nephews, Alexander Reynolds, Brock Beneke, and Aiden Beneke, and by a host of cousins. Additionally, Wynona is survived by close friends, including Marian Ferguson, of Winter Creek Farm in Madison County, Kentucky.
Wynona and her family wish to express their gratitude to the many excellent nurses, doctors, therapists, and others who cared for her during the last two months, including the staff at Floyd Memorial, Norton, and Clark Memorial Hospitals, the staff at Wedgwood Rehabilitation Center in Clarksville, Indiana, and Dr. Mark Bazant and the ALS multidisciplinary team.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who wish to provide a financial expression of their sympathy do so in the form of a donation to the Sellersburg United Methodist Church, or to Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, the Heifer Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, St. Jude Hospital, Dare to Care, or other philanthropic endeavor of the donor’s choice.
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