Walter Berger

Walt Berger of Brentwood, TN was born July 1, 1947, the son of Jesse Green Berger and Dorothy West Berger.  He graduated from Rustburg High School in Rustburg, Virginia and attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia where he was a 1969 Industrial Engineering graduate.  An MBA from Lynchburg College was earned while working for Babcock & Wilcox, manufacturers of nuclear cores for Navy submarines.  Walt worked as a consulting engineer for Davy McKee in Cleveland, Ohio and later went to work for Standard Oil and Standard Oil/BP where he was the Director of Corporate Real Estate Worldwide and was a VP and member of senior management.  He then went to work for National Bank of Detroit (NBD) where he was First Vice President for all bank real estate activities across multiple states.  A major project at NBD was the development, construction, and occupancy of the Belleville Operations Center.  NBD merged with First Chicago where Mr. Berger remained Senior Vice President responsible for all bank real estate activities with a much larger portfolio. Another merger of banks resulted in Bank One with Walt continuing in his role as Senior Vice President with responsibility for many more states and real estate square footage in excess of 20 million square feet and thousands of locations worldwide.  Bank One eventually became a part of JP Morgan Chase.  In his role as Worldwide Director of Corporate Real Estate, Vice President and member of senior management there, Walt traveled the world and continued to travel extensively after his retirement at age 53.  Survivors include his loving wife and best friend, Linda Chance Berger, two children from a previous marriage: daughter Karen Berger of Ft. Lauderdale and son Kevin Berger (Kathleen) of Peachtree City, GA; two grandsons, Bryce and Landon Berger in whom Walt delighted, stepdaughter Laura Stewart (Kyle), and grandson Trenton Stewart, all of whom he loved dearly, brother Jim Berger(Carole) of Lexington, Virginia, as well as nephews Scott Berger and Bill Berger.  He left this world on Good Friday, April 18, 2014, to be with his Lord.  Walt was a very special person who embraced life fully, genuinely loved people, and was intelligent, kind and generous.  He had an interesting and meaningful story for every occasion, many from personal experiences.  Walt will be missed by all who knew him.  His remains will be interred in the Columbarium on the campus of Virginia Tech, one of the centers of his life where friendships were made that have endured for decades.  He followed all Hokie sports and was a fervent fan and supporter.  A memorial service will be held May 24, 2014 at two-thirty in the afternoon at the chapel at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home, Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN. Contributions may be made in his honor to the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association (VTAA-MTC), 1506 Dillard Court, Brentwood, TN 37027, an organization in which he was an officer and in which he was deeply involved.