Dewey L. Berryhill

Dewey Lavere Berryhill passed away peacefully on December 21, 2020 at the age of 89 from a stroke earlier in the month. He was born July 12, 1931 in Lansing, Michigan at his parent’s homestead on Stoll Road weighing in at 11 lbs. He attended Eastern High School in Lansing. He was born in the homestead on Stoll Road and built his own home a couple of miles away where he lived his entire life; probably making him the longest resident ever on Stoll Road.

Dewey married his childhood sweetheart Carol Humphrey on May 22, 1954. Dewey liked to talk about the first time he ever saw Carol. She was seven years old swinging on a swing set at the Grove area school and he was ten years old. The couple were married for 65 years.

He was a hard worker and began milking the family cows morning and night at the age of eight years old. He and his father would then take the cream to Lansing Dairy on Cedar street in Lansing. His dad would wait out in the car due to a disability while Dewey would carry the cream up to the second story one step at a time. Dewey worked in the body repair department for General Motors at the Lansing Fisher Body Plant for 42 years, retiring in 1991. Dewey was a man who could build or fix anything and had an unbelievable amount of patience. While growing up if the girls wanted to spend some time with dad, they could usually find him working under the hood or under a jacked car. He was always busy either outside in his garden (which was the size that could feed the entire neighborhood) or working on an engine for a car, a snowmobile, or a lawn mower. You name it, he could tear it apart, fix the problem, and put it back together again. One of his sayings was, “if a man built it then a man can fix it” – which most of the time he did. This is a small wonder since he was doing this all prior to those of us who rely on YouTube to guide us through a task. Another one of his sayings was “just pick away at it”; a phrase to live by when the task at hand seems too large to even get started. He also loved making toys or furniture in his woodworking shop for the grandchildren.

He was a man that loved life but more importantly loved his family and treasured his friends. He was described by many as being a sweet man who would do anything for anyone. Dewey was a devoted father and grandfather who loved going to all his children’s and then grandchildren’s sporting events and cheering them on. His philosophy on competition was very simple: play hard but winning wasn’t everything. He encouraged his daughters and grandchildren at all their sporting events but if their team lost he would respond with “Well, someone has to lose”.

Dewey began driving the family Doodlebug (a home-made tractor) to haul manure and go to the gravel pit. He bought his first car, a 1929 Ford Model A pick-up truck, at the age of 13. Dewey loved making homemade ice cream and then enjoyed eating it with his children and grandchildren. Dewey was a lifelong member of Delta Mills United Methodist church where he was baptized and was active in church functions. Dewey enjoyed his property on Saubee lake and loved to fish for pan fish off his pontoon boat which of course could hold all the grandchildren too. He made bean soup over the campfire which became a Labor Day tradition at the lake. Dewey enjoyed many annual trips up north mushroom hunting in the Alpena area. He and Carol along with his adult children and grandkids scanned the forest for the elusive morel mushroom. He enjoyed getting together every month at the Local 602 meetings where he enjoyed a meal with friends.

Dewey was preceded in death by his wife Carol A. Berryhill, his parents A. Dewey and Fannie Berryhill, father and mother-in-law Myron and Vivian Humphrey, brothers Alfred DeWayne (Reta) Berryhill and Robert Berryhill, sisters Barbara (Ed) Swanson, Betty Johnston, Ada (Jack) Buckmaster, sister-in-law Donna (Harold) Patrick. He is survived by his brother-in-law Dennis (Mary) Humphrey; sister-in-law Luanne Berryhill; his children Brenda Taylor and Debra (Kirt) Gundry; his grandchildren John (Kate) Gundry, Kimberlee (Aaron Wente) Gundry, Kyle Taylor, and Samara Taylor; and great-grandchildren Jaxon Gundry and Maddison Taylor; as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Dewey will be laid to rest at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Lansing with a graveside service on December 26, 2020 at 12:30 pm. Pastor Joe Spackman will be officiating. Memorials may be made to Delta Mills United Methodist Church or Sparrow Mid-Michigan Hospice House. Online condolences may be made at www.grdewitt.com along with viewing many pictures celebrating his life.

To view the Graveside Service via Livestream please visit our Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home DeWitt Facebook page at this link https://m.facebook.com/GorslineRuncimanDeWitt/. Following the service the video will be posted on our Facebook page for those unable to view on Saturday at 12:30 pm.