Cheryl Kathleen Navin Berberet

Cheryl K. Berberet of San Diego died peacefully after a long illness on February 3, 2012. Born Cheryl Kathleen Navin in Akron, Ohio, on May 27, 1944, she lived in several cities as a child, perhaps inspiring a lifelong love of travel. Her family settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, when Cheryl was nine, where her father P. X. Navin was manager of the local Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant and her mother Helen was a nurse. She attended St. Theresa elementary school, Pius X High School, and the University of Nebraska where she was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority and majored in history and English. Following graduation she married William G. “Jerry” Berberet of Toston, Montana, in August 1966. Cheryl and Jerry were married forty-five years and have two daughters, Heather M. (Delores) of San Diego and Meghan E. (Ron) of Novato, CA, born in Plattsburgh, NY. Jerry and Cheryl lived in diverse regions of the country before settling in San Diego in 2007. In addition to her immediate family, Cheryl is survived by two brothers, John F. (Sharon) of Stillwater, MN, and Philip X. (Debie) of Atlanta, GA, grand daughter Ryan McKenzie Berberet, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

Cheryl Berberet’s last rites will be held at a funeral Mass at Saint Joseph Cathedral, 1535 Third Ave., San Diego 92101, at 3:30 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012. A pictorial gallery of her life can be accessed at the Merkley-Mitchell Mortuary website (www.merkleymitchell.com). In lieu of flowers, donations might be made to the National Dysautonomia Research Foundation, PO Box 301, Red Wing, MN 55066 (www.ndrf.org); the Pius X Foundation, 6000 A St., Lincoln, NE 68510 (www.foundation.piusx.net); or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (www.aspca.org/donate).

Vivacious, outspoken, and kind, Cheryl Berberet was a loving, generous and loyal friend with interests in books, travel, sports, fashion, gourmet cuisine, and lively conversation spiced with laughter. She was also fascinated with technology, spending several hours each day during her last months--wheelchair bound and staying in touch with the world via her iPad, iPhone, Kindle, and TV remote. She thoroughly enjoyed her careers as a mother of small daughters and substitute teacher in Plattsburgh, NY; as a realtor in Salem, OR; as bookseller and host to best selling authors (e.g., J.K. Rowling, Dave Barry, Jamie Lee Curtis) at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Il; and as dress shop clerk, Richard Bickel photography saleswoman, and volunteer librarian while living on St. George Island, Florida. In San Diego she devoted her considerable energies as a member of several committees of The Grande South HOA where she and Jerry lived. She will always be remembered for her passion for experiencing and creating gourmet masterpieces to share with her family and friends. An invitation to Cheryl’s home guaranteed an evening of fine dining.

Cheryl’s buoyant personality inspired lifelong friendships at all stages and settings of her life, whether among her dear Delta Gamma sorority sisters; State University of New York, Willamette University, and North Central College faculty and staff families; her Anderson Bookshop colleagues; St. George Island residents and visitors; or her committee cohort at The Grande South. Her enthusiasm for each person, spontaneous sense of humor, and genuine interest in the lives of others are among her endearing qualities that will be keenly missed. She and Jerry shared interest in sports focused especially on Nebraska’s powerhouse “Big Red” football team over the decades, including two NU Holiday Bowl appearances in the past five years in San Diego.

Her love of travel and adventure expressed itself in ways such as spending a college summer waitressing on Martha’s Vinyard at a restaurant frequented by the Kennedys, heading to Montana with Jerry shortly after their wedding to participate on horseback in the Berberet ranch fall cattle roundup, vacationing in the early seventies on Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore, taking their young daughters in the early eighties to visit England’s churches and museums, and building a beach house in the nineties on St. George Island, in spite of hurricane warnings. In the decade prior to her illness, Cheryl and Jerry spent 175 days on cruise ships visiting numerous historical sites in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia, their last on October 2010 East Asian tour with stops in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand. She was able to participate in her daughter Meghan’s wedding to Ron Ruzicka last July in Kona, Hawaii. Her illness, however, prevented realization of planned future travels to Africa.

Ultimately, Cheryl’s deep caring for her immediate family, her far-flung friends, and books defined her last years. She and Jerry doted over their grand daughter Ryan, never missing a dance recital, grandparents day at school, opportunity to babysit, holiday gathering, or birthday party. Cheryl was an early owner of a Kindle and spent hours each day reading the mystery novels she loved. She read several newspapers and the HuffPost each day online on her iPad, as well as playing fun adventure game apps that kept her mind engaged. She loved to pass on to her daughters the newest games she discovered. Cheryl kept in touch with family and friends via text messages on her iPhone amidst doctor’s visits and physical therapy. Her courage and steadfastly positive attitude uplifted and inspired others up to her untimely death. Her love, enthusiasm, and laughter will be missed, but we know she is now sharing them with the angels.

Arrangements under the direction of Merkley-Mitchell Mortuary, San Diego, CA.