Diane Desclos Berger

She is survived by her beloved husband Dr. Thomas J. Berger (Cdr., U.S.N., retired) of Raleigh; by sons Zac Moretz and wife Jennifer of Concord, N.C., and Thomas Berger and wife Mary of New York City; by daughters Frederica Rhodes and husband Randy of Maryland, Catherine Berger of Washington, D.C., and Andrea Verykoukis and husband Nico of Chapel Hill; by brothers Raymond Desclos and wife Peg of Monroe, N.C., and David Desclos and wife Diane of New Hampshire; and by her adored grandchildren Chase, Tate, Sawyer and Piper Moretz, Jackson and Grace Rhodes, and Joseph and George Verykoukis.

Diane was born on September 30, 1944, in Salem, Mass., and grew up in Danvers, Mass. She attended school in Boston and in 1967 married naval fighter pilot J. Douglas Moretz. They settled in his hometown of Sanford, N.C., where her husband was a noted attorney, and she spent many happy years there with her cherished lifelong friends before moving to Raleigh in 1984.

Diane was beloved by many in Raleigh, and applied her many talents to her career as a trusted executive assistant to some of the area’s most important leaders. She was a volunteer with Mordecai House and then became assistant to the executive director of Preservation North Carolina. From there she became executive assistant to the president of First Federal Savings & Loan of Raleigh, and later to the head of MCI in Research Triangle Park. From there she was lured into state government by then-Secretary of Commerce Dave Phillips to be his executive assistant. Diane remained at Commerce under Norris Tolson, to whom she became a cherished friend and confidante. She later moved with Tolson to the N.C. Dept. of Transportation and continued on when Lyndo Tippett became Secretary as his special assistant and close personal friend. Diane retired in 2006, receiving the Old North State Award from Governor Mike Easley for her service and dedication.

Diane was overjoyed to find Tom Berger, the love of her life, in his living room during the 2001 Oakwood Christmas Preview Party. Tom and Diane married in 2002 and lived a charmed life together, holding hands, attending plays and concerts, traveling to France and Italy, and never missing any of their grandchildren’s many birthdays, ballgames and recitals. Their happy marriage was a blessing and a model for their children, who reveled in the expansion of their family and in the joy Diane brought to each of them. Her eight grandchildren will always remember their adored Dearie.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated for Diane at Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday, June 28, at 1:30 pm. A celebration of her life will follow, across the street at Kerr Hall, Edenton St. United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Diane with a contribution to Covenant Classical School of Concord, Preservation North Carolina, or Hospice of Wake County.