Keith Berry
On May 5, 2019 Keith Berry’s family, friends and many others whose lives he touched lost a kind and generous man.
He was born in Denver, Colorado but as a young child his family moved to Wisconsin. Keith attended Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he lettered in track and football. He was named All Conference Fullback his junior and senior years and All State Honorable Mention as a senior. His teammates voted him Captain and Most Valuable Player his senior year.
In 1958 he entered Idaho State College on a football scholarship where he lettered twice and was named Honorable Mention on the Rocky Mountain All Conference team. Keith was affiliated with Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity whose members have become life-long friends. It was Idaho State where he met Sharon, his wife of 55 years. At Idaho State University, after being accepted into Advanced
Captain Berry
ROTC, Keith was named Outstanding ROTC Cadet as a senior. In 1963 he graduated with a B.S. degree in Business Administration and Economics and was awarded a commission into the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. That fall he attended Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Immediately after completion, he entered training to become a U.S. Army Ranger, an honor he cherished his entire life. In February of 1964 with two weeks between Ranger training and assignment to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Air Defense Group, Keith and Sharon were married. His assignment to the Wisconsin Air Defense Group lasted just over a year when he received orders to Vietnam. Keith was selected to attend the Vietnamese Language School at the Presidio in Monterey, California from October to December 1965. Upon completing the course, he was deployed to Vietnam for one year where he attained the rank of Captain and was awarded the Bronze Star of Meritorious Service. He was then assigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he co-researched, developed and presented 96 hours of instruction in management to the officers in the Artillery Career Course. He was awarded the Army Commendation Award for that tour of duty. After seventeen months at Ft. Sill, he resigned his military commission and began civilian life.
After employment in corporate finance, Keith fulfilled a lifelong ambition to become an FBI Agent. During his career with “The Bureau” he was the Special Agent Accountant for the San Francisco division and later Supervisor Agent in the Hayward and Santa Cruz, California FBI offices. While still employed at the FBI, Keith continued his education by attending nigh classes receiving Masters Degrees in Accounting, Financial Planning, and Taxation. After retirement from the FBI, Keith worked at Sun Microsystems as Manager of Business Investigations. If all of the above wasn’t enough, he ran marathons and rode dirt bikes in his 30’s and 40’s. In his 50’s he enjoyed inline skating, learned downhill ski and relearned pole vaulting which he’d done in high school.
In 2001 Keith and Sharon moved to the Seattle area to live near family. While there, Keith volunteered with Habitat for 
Humanity and demonstrated his own humanity through his kindness and generosity to family, friends, and strangers. He always thought of others before himself and how he could make someone’s life better. Humans weren’t the only recipients of his kindness. His love of all living creatures was beyond description. If it purred or barked he especially melted.
Keith is survived by his wife Sharon; son David and daughter-in-law Nanci; sister-in-laws Jeanne, Willa, and Marilyn, brother-in-law Alan; and cousins, nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews and life-long friends. We will miss him more than can be imagined.
Keith was preceded in death by his mother Josephine Patricia Johnson, stepfathers James W. Berry and George C. Johnson, and his sister Mary Patricia Shannon.
Keith will be interred at Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 SE 240th St.. Kent, Washington at 2:15PM on June 7, 2019. Memorial donations may be made in Keith’s name to The Humane Society, any Food Bank, both of which were his favorite charities, or any of your choice.
BY THE WAY, HE ALSO PLAYED THE ACCORDION