Joan Bess Berry
Beloved wife, mother and servant of Christ, Joan Bess Berry passed away on Wednesday morning, October 30, 2024, at the age of 89. She is preceded in death (January 10, 2024) by her husband of 67 years, Phifer Erwin Berry, III, her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas F. E. Bess and her siblings, Elizabeth Hall, Thomas E Bess, Jr., and Mary Mac Ingram.
Joan was steadfastly devoted to her parents and spent a happy childhood and young life in Keyser, West Virginia. An accomplished equestrienne, she participated in horse shows (Hunt Saddle) and fox hunts. She thrived as she spent her summers at Camp Cascade in the Adirondack mountains of New York as a camper and counselor, further training and honing her horsewoman ship on her horse, Charm.
A graduate of Keyser High School (1954), she later attended Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where she studied social sciences. Before graduating from college, Joan married Erwin in 1956 and thereafter they began their family. They lived and raised their family in Arlington and McLean, Virginia, Cincinnati Ohio, Vienna, Virginia and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
In Vienna, Joan and Erwin were involved in worship and all forms of fellowship at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia. In Rocky Mount, they were members of Lakeside Baptist Church. She worked with the theater at the Arts Center of Rocky Mount as a costume designer and builder. Later, the couple opened a small business, where her skills and talents were used and shared, specifically by establishing and maintaining close relationships with each of the store’s employees.
Joan saw each of her children as individual entities and was intent on celebrating and fostering the gifts God gave each of them. She did this fully, faithfully and brilliantly. In fact, she made each person who crossed her threshold, or her path feel welcome and special.
In 1990, Joan and Erwin retired to Wintergreen Resort, Virginia where Joan realized a real love for skiing. She continued her service at her new church home, First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro, Virginia. She has served there as a deacon, an elder and on several committees. Her quiet presence and considerable service have been a mainstay of that church.
Joan is survived by her five children, Erwin (Diane Mayer) of Slatyfork, West Virginia, Terri Rooks (Robert) of High Point, North Carolina, Beth Vawter (Doug) of York, South Carolina, Tom (Jane) of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Bruce (Ashley) of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 13 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro, Virginia on November 15th, 2024, at 1:00 pm. Details will be posted on the McDow Funeral Home’s website. Joan’s private family interment will be at Culpeper National Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family encourages those interested to contribute to Medi House Hospice of Charlottesville .or First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro.
“The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one’ self to others.”
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
