Ronald Lewis Berry

Ronald Lewis Berry Sr., of Sugar Land, Texas, died in the comfort of his home Thursday evening, June 23rd, 2011. He was born October 12, 1937, in Witchita Falls, Texas, the third child of the late Emmadean Yowell Berry of Stoneburg,Texas and the late Wilbur Berry of Bellevue, Texas. With his parents and two sisters, Greta and Anita, his family moved to Grand Prairie,Texas, when he was three. Ron grew up fishing, loving sports, building go-carts with his dad, and nurturing a sweet tooth that lasted his entire lifetime. Valedictorian of his class, he graduated from Grand Prairie High School and went on to obtain his B.S in Aeronautics and Astronautics from M.I.T, graduating with honors. Before completing his degree he met and married Genelle Childress, his wife of 49 years, and upon graduation the couple moved to Austin, where Ron obtained his M.S in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas. Joining NASA just as it was getting established in Houston, Ron worked initially designing lunar trajectories as part of NASA’s work on the Mission Planning and Analysis Division(MPAD) for the Apollo program, advanced to the position of Chief of Mission Planning and Analysis Division, and concluded his career as Deputy Director, Information Systems Directorate. He is particularly remembered for his work on the first manned mission to the moon, as well as on the Skylab, Apollo Soyuz and Space Shuttle programs. He received numerous awards in his thirty-three year career at NASA, most notably the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Nixon for his work on Apollo 13. As passionate as he was about his work in aeronautics, his true love was his family, and his roles as a husband, father, son, brother, and grandfather. He will be remembered in particular by his family when we look out upon the Texas Hill Country, listen to an Astros game, or when we are all gathered together in love and laughter. He is survived by his wife of forty-nine years, Genelle Berry of Sugar Land, TX; his daughter, Cindy Ollig and her husband Alex and son Max of Denver, CO; his daughter, Catherine Berry and her husband David Hamburger and children Milo and Annabelle of Austin, TX; his son, Ron Berry Jr. of Austin, TX; his daughter, Elizabeth Berry-Hughey and husband Patrick of Austin, TX; his sister, Greta Beckler of Arlington, TX; nephews, Bryan and Bradley Beckler and their families; and numerous other loving relatives. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday June 28, 2011, at The Settegast-Kopf Co. @ Sugar Creek, 15015 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, Texas 77478, (218)565-5015. Graveside Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, June 29, 2011, at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas 78731. For those desiring, donations in Ron’s memory may be made to The Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, ALS Research, 6550 Fannin, Ste 1801, Houston, Texas 77030, or to the charity of your choice. Please visit www.settegastkopf.com to leave memorial tributes.