Eugene T. Berry

Eugene Thornton Berry, 91, died peacefully on February 24, 2020 in Colorado Springs after a brief illness. Gene was born in Chicago on September 9, 1928. He was raised in Chicago and graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1946 before attending Wheaton College, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1950. He continued with post-graduate work in Food Distribution at Michigan State University in 1951.

Gene started his career in the family-owned Blue Seal Food Products, Inc., moving from sales to management and assuming the role of President in 1952. After Blue Seal was acquired in 1971, Gene worked in the travel and real estate industries before semi-retirement and an active role as mentor and driver at a local Pizza Hut franchise.

Gene was a lifelong supporter of and sometime volunteer leader with Young Life. It was through trips as a Young Life camp counselor that he came to love Colorado, eventually moving with the family to Colorado Springs in 1972. There he became an active member of First Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Stephen Minister and was a much-loved figure in the Going Concern Sunday school class. Gene was an avid outdoors man and loved to hike and ride horseback in the mountains with his family and friends.

Eugene was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene T. Berry, Sr. and Marion (née Messenger) Berry and by his brother Frank Berry. He is survived by two sons, Mark Berry of San Diego and Craig (Maureen) Berry of Chicago; by brother Don (Gay) Berry of Wheaton, IL; by sister Marilyn Couch of Berkeley, CA; and by former spouse Edna Marzelle “Beenie” Berry of Colorado Springs. A memorial service for is scheduled for Friday, September 3, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. MST. The service will be in the Cathedral Room of First Presbyterian Church, 219 East Bijou Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. A reception will follow in the same room. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Deacons Fund at First Presbyterian Church, 219 East Bijou Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.