Final Salute

VERTIE LEO BERRY was born on August 28, 1922. That’s 102 years ago! He came into the world in a rural corner of Washington County, Alabama, somewhere between Fruitdale and Vinegar Bend… far enough into the woods that his people thought it was okay to call their little boy, Vertie. He always went by Leo or V. L. Who could blame him?

Young Leo was the 8th of 8 children born to Charles Wesley Berry and Zelar Williams Berry. He was only 18 months old when his mother died. He and his older brother, Herman, a polio survivor, were raised by his maternal grandparents, Washington “Wash’ Williams and Susan Grimes Williams. “Grandpa Williams” was an industrious commercial gardener selling fruit and vegetables in the Fruitdale area and shipping fruit as far as St. Louis and Chicago. From this couple, Leo learned hard work, generosity, creativity with his hands, and above all honesty. As a youngster, he entered a lifelong walk with his Savior, Jesus Christ.

Grandma Williams died when Leo was 13. Grandpa Williams died the next year. Leo and 20 year-old Herman made it on their own long enough for Leo to finish high school. The army was recruiting boys right out of the classroom when they hit 18, but pre-enlistment with the Navy allowed Leo to graduate. He was valedictorian, but there were only a handful left in his school by then.

When Leo reported for duty at the end of 1942, he entered the Naval Construction Battalions (SeaBees). It was said of the SeaBees, “They are soldiers in sailors’ uniform, with marine training, doing civilian work at WPA wages”. Leo honed skills as a metal worker, welder, boilermaker, and all around skilled ship fitter. He saw duty in Brisbane, Australia, Finschhafen, New Guinea, and Manus Island in the Pacific. He saw combat on Los Negros Island in the Admiralties. By the end of the war, Leo had been assigned to the new aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt that was still under construction. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946 with a rating of Boilermaker 1st Class and as a Petty Officer 1st Class.

He managed to get into Mississippi College and wanted to study botany, but when he learned he could get a degree in history quicker, he made a course adjustment. The best thing he discovered at MC was a cute little curly-haired girl from Sturgis, Mississippi, Ruth Hannah. It took some work and a lot of Sunday School and Church services, but he won her heart and claimed her hand on August 17, 1947. That union lasted for 72 years, until Ruth’s death in 2020.

Ruth and Leo shared life and a marriage that could serve as a pattern for others. In 1951, Greg was born. As they poured their lives into his, this son thrived academically, first at Ole Miss, then at Yale, and ultimately made a career in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. In 1954, Hannah was born. She blazed her own path academically, first at Ole Miss and then at the University of Mississippi Medical Center where she retired as a professor of pediatrics.

Ruth was a school teacher with the Jackson Public Schools. Leo became an insurance executive retiring in 1987 after 34 years with MS Farm Bureau Insurance. During that career, he managed to head every department in the company with the exception of accounting, truly training a generation of leaders who would come after him.

Always keen on travel, Leo jumped the gun and bought a 23’ Winnebago two years before his retirement… “to break it in”. He and his sweet Ruth visited 49 states plus extended trips to Israel, Portugal, and Ethiopia in support of their kids and grandchildren. They were that solid team; never getting in the way, but always there when they could be helpful.

Against this backdrop of family, work and play, Leo and Ruth seemed most comfortable in the realm of faith. Both strong Christians, they were dependable servants in their Baptist churches. For Leo, that meant teaching Sunday school, serving as a deacon and chairing the insurance committee for decades, being that dependable, honest, generous servant that constitutes the backbone of a church.

Leo will be sorely missed, but his impact and legacy remains.

He leaves behind two children, Gregory Leo Berry and Hannah Berry Gay, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a gift to the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. https://anniearmstrong.com/checkout/