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He was a friend maker extraordinaire. He was always open to a conversation.

Farmington - Archie “Bill” Berry, Jr. was born and spent his early years in western Long Island, NY, spending considerable time with his grandmother near Ebbets Field. He was a lifelong Dodgers fan. He enjoyed swimming, boating and sailing in the waters off Long Island.

The family briefly moved to the southwest where he became an accomplished horseback rider. They returned east to settle outside Philadelphia. Bill was active in sports – swimming, baseball, basketball – and learned auto mechanics at the family dealership.

He attended Lehigh University where he met his future wife Irene (a tutor and psychology major) and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation Bill and Irene married. Bill joined the Marine Corps as an officer in an engineering unit and the two newlyweds started a family. He had many varied experiences including deployment of pop-up camps, road and equipment moving maneuvers, amphibious landings, and rigging a ship’s desalination plant to provide potable water for Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

After leaving the Marines the family moved to New Hampshire where Bill took a job with the state designing roadways and bridges. Some of his bridge and roadway designs are still in use on Interstate 93 and other roadways around the state.

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It is hard to imagine Bill could have packed much more into the life he led.

Those who knew Bill know he was a people person. The state job was somewhat isolating, so Bill took the leap to a private school initially teaching physics. The position was temporary. When the stint was up, the school had one other open position – earth science. That is when the geology bug bit. Bill went on to get an MS in geology from Colby College with a patient wife and growing family managing the small family farm.

An encounter with a professor on a field trip led to an invitation to attend Kansas University as a doctoral student. Now a tutor himself, Bill assisted many student athletes and in future years would comment on how nice a particular professional athlete was in person. On the home front, Irene (with her BA in English) continued to help Bill by writing his papers, including his thesis.

With PhD in hand, Bill packed up the family and headed to Farmington, Maine to start UMF’s Geology Department. The year was 1970 and everything was new. The family started skiing at Titcomb Mountain that very winter. Bill was notified that he was selected to represent the US at an IUGG assembly in the USSR. The following summer Bill and Irene spent several weeks at the conference and touring the country.

Bill became more involved with personal interests – finding both a nascent model railroad club in Wilton (he had HO and O scale layouts since childhood), and the just re-emerging Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phillips. These continued to be lifelong passions.

By the mid-70s the Berry family was at a full force of 9. Seatbelt laws had not yet limited the number of people who could legally occupy a vehicle. Station wagons were a must, though a pickup truck with a cap and an old seat in the bed would suffice in a pinch.

Along with the children, the family had also grown to include 4 horses, a few ducks, a cat and a dog. A property came on the market that would fit the menagerie and Bill (& co) moved to the Voter Hill Farm. That provided the space and resources to reengage in cattle raising. The herd began with a lot of fencing and 6 young Herefords from Irene’s parent’s farm.

Proximity to Titcomb Mountain only increased Bill’s participation (as we now shared the same “hill”). Bill and Irene became ski instructors and became involved in the Farmington Ski Club. Bill coached little league football, played intermural basketball at UMF and became more involved in community activities such as President of the Western Maine Audubon Society and advisor and member of the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Through the course of his teaching career Bill taught and advised many students. He was also known for his field trips which reached students of all ages beyond the geology department. His photographic memory served him well in both guiding field trips and recognizing the astounding number of former students he would encounter in the most unexpected of places. One almost came to expect an excited call of “Doc Berry!” under any circumstances. Our family recollection is that there was only one time that he did not remember a “student” – upon explanation, the student introduced herself as being the friend of someone who was enrolled in a class; she just sat in because she thought the classes were interesting.

Bill was a friend maker extraordinaire. He was always open to a conversation. Always ready to help. This attribute permeated not only his teaching space, but, as one who rarely missed weekly church services – extended to anywhere he traveled. Bill and Irene were likely one of the last few out of a church throughout their lives. They were always eager to listen and share. They relayed many stories of the people they met – often a one-time encounter, but a surprising number would cross paths again with the common thread of remembering the warm welcome and friendship they had encountered.

In the late 90s Bill became president of the Sandy River Charitable Foundation. The family foundation chose to focus on a combination of international and local issues, similar to Bill and Irene’s personal philanthropic endeavors. This opened up an entirely new avenue to connect with and help people.

Not to be left idle in retirement, Bill decided (with family agreement) to purchase Saddleback Mountain. This was added to the task of running the farm (now with considerably more than 6 head of cattle), being president of the foundation, holding leadership roles and actively working at and on the SR&RL Railroad, Bill and Irene had an affinity for Saddleback, having been the preferred destination for an annual family ski trip (I think due to “Maine Day” family pricing) and later became regular participants in “Tuesday Tune-up”. Those programs and many others designed to help make the big mountain ski experience affordable were continued.

One of the more recent efforts that has come to fruition is Bill’s involvement as an advisor to the Maine Gem and Mineral Museum in Bethel. We heard regular updates as the building was finally being renovated and the displays installed.

Bill was as much at home in a honky-tonk bar in Montana as he was at the Portland Symphony. He was a regular at school and college plays and performances, and would travel as needed – Waterville, Augusta, Monmouth, Portland to experience local art. Saddleback became a venue for local bands and the occasional headliner. Bill was a driving force behind the Bluegrass festival.

It is hard to imagine Bill could have packed much more into the life he led. It is, in a word, fascinating.

A Celebration of Life will be held on October 17th from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm at the base lodge at Saddleback Mountain, Rangeley, Maine.

Bill was preceded by his wife, Irene. He leaves behind his brother, Robert; his children, Cathy, Faith, Mark, Nate, Nan, Jon and Marla; 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

Rest in Peace Pop – Say “hi” to Mom.

Arrangements are under the care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, Maine, where memories, photos and condolences may be shared at www.dsfuneral.com