Kenneth Alan Berry

On August 19, 2020, Almighty God in his infinite wisdom called Ken home to Glory, and he entered into eternal rest.

Kenneth was introduced to Jesus Christ at an early age, and became a member of Kadish AME Church in Edenton. He sang in the youth choir, and participated in Sunday School. After graduating in 1979 from John A. Holmes High School in Edenton, Ken furthered his education at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, NC. He was a Resident Dorm Director and participated in various mentorship programs. He graduated from ECU in 1984 with a BS degree in Accounting. Ken became employed with Carolina Power and Light Company immediately upon graduating from ECU, and then relocated to Raleigh, NC. In 1985, he married his high school sweetheart, Linda Gale McClease, and they relocated to Cary, NC. In 1986, Ken completed the certification process to become licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.

In 1990, Ken met a young man from a church in the Cary community, who had been out on visitation in Ken’s neighborhood. This young man was Ron Scarborough, who shared his love for the Lord with Ken. At that meeting, Ron led Ken to the Lord and introduced Ken to the Roman’s Road of salvation (Romans 10:9-10)]. Although Ken knew who Jesus Christ was, he didn’t know the importance of establishing a relationship with the Lord, or about His saving grace. The beginning of Ken’s passion for the Lord and his desire to serve Him in ministry was birthed, and he’s been on fire for the Lord ever since. Ken and Linda became members of Bethel Baptist Church in Cary, NC where they were both active members. Their union continued to be blessed with the birth of their sons, Aaron and Austin. Ken’s desire to serve the Lord while at Bethel manifested through his service in the Awana Ministry where he served as Truth & Training (T & T) Leader, and later as Commander. Ken truly loved sharing the Gospel with children and leading them to Christ through the Awana ministry. During his time as Commander, the Lord blessed Bethel’s Awana ministry with a bus, allowing the group to transport even more children and their families to the church to hear the Gospel.

In 1997, Linda was called home to be with the Lord after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. The Lord placed special people in the lives of Ken, Aaron and Austin to minister to them and be supportive during this difficult time..

In the next season of Ken’s life, he met and married Adrienne Thorne Berry in October 2000, with whom he shared a blended and growing family.

Ken and Adrienne both were active servants within the Awana Ministry at Bethel, where Ken continued to serve as Commander.

Ken’s focus was always on family, and he coached his sons on several Cary Community Recreation basketball and AAU teams over the years, traveling across the state of NC. After his sons were in college, Ken’s dedication to mentoring youth through sports for impacting youth led him to continue coaching several other AAU teams and traveling with them to tournaments across North Carolina and Virginia. Ken also volunteered with many other school and community organizations, and local ministry groups. He was instrumental in establishing and operating the football and basketball concession stands at Panther Creek High School. And regardless of the venue, Ken always spread the Gospel of Christ! Whatever venue he was in, he impacted others with the Gospel of Christ.

Ken, Adrienne and the boys began attending Colonial Baptist Church in 2009, where Ken continued to work as a Commander in the Awana Ministry. His years of experience made him a popular trainer for AWANA. Ken also worked with the Awana Missionary for the Eastern NC region, Kevin Chewning, where he provided training to various Awana ministry groups throughout the state of NC as well as internationally.

During this time, Ken continued employment with Progress Energy until his retirement in 2014 after 30 years of service. Not one to remain idle, Ken joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC as a Senior Auditor, where he remained until the Lord called him home.

The youngest of four siblings, Ken was preceded in death by his sister, Barbara Valentine, and brother-in-law, Floyd Vann. Left to cherish the precious memories of Ken’s life are: his wife Adrienne of Cary, NC; his sons, Aaron and Austin both of Greenville, NC; his stepdaughter Ariane (Kevin) and 5 grandchildren- Shawn Webb, and Laurin, Lindsey, Luke, and Levi all of Greensboro, NC; his brother, Major Jr. (Alvora) of Bellevue, Nebraska; his sister, Sandra Berry Vann, of Fort Washington, MD; his mother-in-law, Pearlene Thorne of Raleigh, NC; and sister-in-law Gladys Thorne Smith (Anthony) of Raleigh, NC. Also included in celebrating his memory are special cousins Patricia Welch and Denise Valentine both of Washington, DC; a special nephew Derrick Valentine of Washington, DC; special lifetime friend Timothy Williams of Hampton, VA; and brothers in Christ, Ronald Scarborough of Garner, NC; Jeff Vaughan of Pittsboro, NC and Randy Williams of Cary, NC. He also leaves a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Ken had such a positive impact on others, but first and foremost, he was always willing to share the Gospel, no matter where he was or whom he was with. He was a Godly man, and will truly, truly be missed by those who loved him.

Due to seating limitations related to COVID-19 policies per the State of NC, the family encourages everyone to view the service via livestream on the Colonial Baptist Church website. (You can join the family for the service by livestream by clicking on join livestream below under services at the time of the service.)

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Colonial Baptist Church, 6051 Tryon Road, Cary, NC 27518. In memo area, please write: Awana Ministry, or Kevin Chewning, Awana Missionary of the Eastern District, Link: https://www.awana.org/missionary/chewning

AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, and is taken from 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. (KJV)

2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith”. (KJV)

Arrangements with Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Cary, NC.