Carl Berry's Passing

As I said on the FB page, I'll raise a glass in his honor at Carlisle.  Carl was a fine man who continued to enjoy life well past the time that many folks have accepted old age.  Carl didn't "go gently into that good night", but did it with his Speedster winding toward the red line and a SEG on his face.

Wow...so sorry to hear the news. Carl was a great fellow, easy going and nice to be close with. He gave and expected nothing in return. A constant inspiration for me with my Soob conversion and I won't forget his support with his hardtop contribution. He was a man of quiet innovation. A loss to us for sure. 

So sorry to hear of his passing, a true gentleman , quiet and unassuming. He enjoyed telling me stories about his time in the Marines. We shared some heroes Chesty Puller, Victor Krulac, and many other famous Marines. 

He always loved Maggie's JPS Coupe, and I was privileged  to have him drive it a few years ago at Carlisle.

Blue skies, tailwinds, and calm waters my friend.

Chuck & Maggie Martin

This is terrible news! Carl was one of the good guys. I appreciated his posts as well as his sense of humor. I hope he passed in peace, with a smile on his face.

I have only heard good things about Carl.  RIP!  You will remain in our thoughts.

Oh no !  I've been emailing him now and then until a few weeks ago, he said he was having issues but was on the mend, said his VS ? speedster was disassembled and had just purchased another one in the Carolina's I believe.                                                         What a great guy Carl was, I recall the Saturday morning of Pumpkin runs he was traveling south and stopped by our house before 7AM just to drop off a bottle of wine. He was so appreciative the morning my friend Ross and I fixed his fuel pump problem at the Hotel a few years back. A couple of years ago Carl won a raffle prize that was dear to Connie, a painting Heidi Gallo had done, be as it may some weeks later it arrived via UPS at our door with the following note.... " Dear Connie, I hung the painting on my wall at home and a week later it fell off the wall landing undamaged on the floor, I knew right then it wanted to become yours ...enjoy !"

  Connie and I are so saddened by this news  .........                      

 ~  Mr. Carl Berry a gentlemen and a gentle man  ~

I, too, have been regularly chatting with Carl on the phone and the off and on email.  Most recently, we were plotting the installation of the convertible top on his newly purchased CMC.  He would invariably call me when I was out on my bike and when the huffing and puffing gave me away he would try to end the call but I kept him talking.  Always the gentleman and always helpful to others, Carl was the Speedstah guy's Speedstah guy.  He had some health issues of late, but has been dealing with them and moving on with a renewed optimism for 2017 with the new CMC he had just bought and was excited about getting out and driving it this coming season.

Damn.  I really liked Carl.  I'll miss his wit, his posts and, especially, his friendship.  May he have fair weather, winding roads and sense that he touched many lives on the SOC.

Sad news to hear about the loss of another great SOCer! A true gentleman and all around good guy.

May his soul Rest in Peace!

I am just so sadden about this news.  Carl was always so supportive. Thinking back, I always got a smile on my face when he was responding to any issue.

A gentleman with clear thoughts and a big heart. God bless you Carl.

Go in peace my friend.

Art

Very sad to see this. He had a great group of friends for sure: the sign of a man who lived well.

Very sad news, Carl had so many things left to do, life can be so good and sometimes not so good. Carl made the best he could of it. He always looked forward and dared to dream this madness we all have
Of these cars. RIP my friend .

Rich,

I am very sorry to hear of the passing of your dear friend. I hope that Carl will Rest In Peace.

Prayers go out to his family and the SOC group family who gained so much from his friendship.

Tom L.

He will be missed. Here is a portrait of himself he sent me a print of so I could make him an avatar a while back.
-=theron

Topic continued from

https://www.speedsterowners.com.../sad-news-carl-berry

If I could I'd like to offer a short prayer to you and your family:

Father, we ask You to send Your peace to those persons who are mourning. Continue to surround them with family, friends and loved ones who will offer words of comfort. Give them sweet and restful sleep. Father, remove the spirit of heaviness, and give them garments of praise. In due time, bless their lives to overflow with laughter and joy again. As they take refuge in You, please help them to put their trust in You. Holy Spirit, we ask that You settle the hearts and minds of those who are feeling any guilt, resentment, bitterness, or anger. Help them not to look back but to press forward.

R.I.P. Carl Berry

SO sad

I'm pretty new to the forum compared to most, but he was a huge help providing valuable information on my build thread. I'm sure he is in a better place now.

thank you all for your emails and thoughts.  Some have asked for more information.  He just turned 78.  Despite having 2 heart attacks in his 40's, he was able to get that under control but continued to have more issues lately.  He was more active in his 70s than he was in his 40s and 50s.  We suspect the heart was the main factor though.  He was home at the time and we believe he died suddenly.  A quick funny story - in the early to mid 80s before cholesterol was generally known to the public as causing heart issues, my father was in his cardiologist's office.  They were both smoking and his cardiologist told him his cholesterol was 384 and he should probably look at getting that down.  True story.

Johnathan:

Thanks for checking in.  As you can see, Carl was very liked amongst his Speedster friends.  I'm the one who convinced him to make his first drive to Carlisle in his VS when he wasn't all that sure it would make it.  It didn't, suffering a fuel pump failure enroute.  He got it towed to the hotel (I told him I could bring it back to his house for him on my trailer) and the next morning we head out to the hotel parking lot and there is a swarm of people all around the back of his car and a couple of us fixed it, right then and there.  He was overwhelmed that people would do that for him, but he would have done whatever he could have for US, too.

Please let us know of wake/funeral arrangements.  A small bunch of us are in the greater New England area (I'm near Worcester, MA) and would like to come, I'm sure.

Gordon

The Speedster guy in mourning.....

Very sad news.  I was not fortunate enough to meet Carl face to face, but shared many PMs. We discussed his plans for his Speedster and I shared my experiences building mine.  He was a great guy!  Always positive and optimistic, looking forward to the next project.  A planner.  I will miss him.  

RIP Carl.  

Hey Gordon, I have this incident recorded...

https://youtu.be/Yd_eJQeDdNg

Thanks for the update, Jonathan. In hindsight, I am so happy that Carl and I were able to get together last Sept. I finally got to meet his little companion, Daisy, as well. I hope she is doing well.The photo isn't the best since she was like Carl, didn't want the spotlight.

I gueee I forgot to post the photos I took in September. Mel Cardenas was able to meet up with us as well that Sunday afternoon. Mel had volunteered to help get Carl hooked up onto a smartphone. Carl was willing to try, but too bad he just ran out of time for that...maybe just as well :-)

I haven't been able to do this 'till now-

This little thing we've got here goes way beyond "just an owner's group". A lot of us know each other by first (and not just screen) names, and between thread drifts, jokes, back and forth banter (look up the conversation where Jim Kelly gave me my avatar- search "yoda") and conversations during private messages there are a lot of guys here I would truly like to meet. I wish we all lived closer so we could hang out. Carl (as well as Rich) were among the very first, and that connection has remained over the years with both of them. Carl was a gold mine of information on 356 body, trim, interior details and year to year changes, taking a later interest and always asking for explanations of engine and transaxle technical stuff. I learned to "strip them down" a little bit so the point was easier to see and not lost in all the details. We always seemed to have a conversation going about something, he was always interested in what was happening with my kids, asking about how this or that turned out (from the previous conversation). He knew the names of our 2 cats, and whenever he saw something in the newspaper concerning cat behavior (if you know cats, you'll know that 2 cats living in the same house can have challenges) he would clip it out and mail it to me. I knew he talked with other members regularly, looking for information and advice, and I hope some of you got to know him as well as I feel I did.

I'm toying with coming to Carlisle (we'll see what the finances are like in a few weeks, as a plane ride to that end of the continent is a looonng way from Vancouver- if it does actually happen, anybody want to split a room?) and unfortunately meeting Carl is a bust.

@Jonathan Berry- Thank you for posting here. I considered your dad (and I still do you, Rich) my "big brother, and I hope it's obvious he was well liked. Is Daisy ok?

We lost a good one, guys. This is hard. 

Au revoir, mon ami. If I make it, we will raise a glass to you in Carlisle

Carl had sent me some copies of some of his illustrations a few year back in hopes of giving himself an SOC avatar. While at his home in September, he graciously gave Mel and I a tour of his place. Most things had a story. Carl was a avery talented illustrator as these three pieces show.

Wow. Never knew...

@Rich Drewek- Going to Carlisle? Want to split a room? I'm sure I'll drink too much and stay up too late, but it will be fun...

Detail on his drawing of the '31 Ford PU is outstanding! Did he ever have one?

Al - I met Rich by sharing a room at Carlisle when Carl was unable to make it due to health and car issues.  You won't have issue - just hid your bottle of the good stuff.

Wolfe, did I really drink that whole bottle?

Here's the best shot of Carl's little, Daisy. She was difficult to get a good shot of since she was always flitting around.

I read the news the other day and I was very shocked. I thought there must be two SOC members named Carl Berry. I had to double check what I had read against the messages I have from him.

The whole 'Here today. Gone tomorrow." aspect didn't sink in for a day or so.  How can this be the same guy who had been so supportive of my speedster journey? He was one of the first to reach out when I grew frustrated with the 5 speed debacle. I really appreciate his support and advice along the way.

I will miss my friend Carl. We will all miss his experience and stories here on the SOC.

May he rest in peace. 

Always sad to lose a loved one, and Mr. Berry surely was one.  Can't say as I managed to spend much time with him at Carlisle, but I did meet him.  May he rest in peace.

ALB posted:

Wow. Never knew...

@Rich Drewek- Going to Carlisle? Want to split a room? I'm sure I'll drink too much and stay up too late, but it will be fun...

Al:  It would be so nice if you could make it to Carlisle.  You would have a great time, and I still owe you a beer or two.

PM me sometime, and we can discuss it.

This is very sad news of Carl Berry.  

We were all saddened to hear of Carl's passing.  In addition to hanging out with him at Carlisle, I have PMd and e-mailed with him for years and tried to offer advise and guidance as I could.  RIP Carl

Regarding any memorial service for Carl, his son has told me that they hope to do something simple in the Spring. Jonathan promises to stay in touch and claims he will probably need some help decyphering Carls collection in the future. As you may or may not know...Carl "collected" BIG TIME.

From my collection of Carl', e-mails:

"What I'd 'like to do' and what I 'can do' aren't always perking in the same coffee pot!"

Carl Berry, 2016