John M. Berry Jr., 83, of Canterbury, NH and formerly of Berlin, NH died unexpectedly on March 4, 2018 at Lake Memphremagog in Vermont while doing one of his passions, fishing. He was born in Concord, NH on April 12, 1934 the son of John M. Berry Sr. and Ida (Couture) Berry and was educated in Berlin Public Schools. He was a graduate of the University of NH, and the University of ME. He had had received a federal scholarship for doctoral study at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. He was a veteran of the US Army and later a medic with the NH National Guard. Mr. Berry taught at public schools in Berlin and in Maine. At the time of his retirement in 1990, he was a Professor of English and a department head at NH Vocational Technical College at Berlin, where he had been employed for 24 years. Following his college retirement, he served as Coos District Supervisor for the Governor’s Council on Youth and as a drug and alcohol counselor for the state of NH. He had coached high school skiing in Maine. Mr. Berry held various summer jobs including Stage Driver on Mt. Washington, Director at the Ravine House Pool, Guard at the NH State Prison in Concord, and local supervisor for the Youth Corps. He was a past member of the Coast of Maine Neptunes, Millsfield Sporting Club, NH Fire Warden’s Association, the American Legion, the Berlin Retired Teachers’ Association, the Success Pond Association, the Sierra Club, the National Rifle Association and the Androscoggin Valley Amateur Radio Club. He had volunteered as a G.E.D. instructor at the Coos County facility in Stewartstown and for the RSVP program in Berlin. He had been actively involved in the Dean for America campaign.
Mr. Berry’s first spouse, Jackie was killed in an auto accident in Berlin in 1977 and his second spouse Anita died in 2010. He is survived by his son Jay J. Berry and wife Anne of Canterbury; a daughter Holly Fontaine and her husband David of Gorham; grandchildren Max and Levi Berry and Abby and Adam Fontaine; great granddaughter Kendal Fontaine; brother Donald Henderson and wife Pat of Fairlee, Vt; nieces and nephews. His step-daughter Diane Aas and her husband Daroll reside in Morbridge, SD. He was predeceased by a brother Robert Henderson.
SERVICES: A Funeral Service will be held on Friday March 9, 2018 at 1PM at the Bryant Funeral Home, 1 Promenade Street, Gorham, NH. Interment will be in the St. Kieran Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Friday from 11 AM to 1 PM, prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to a charity of one’s choice.