Brent Berry

Brent Berry, 63, died March 8, 2012 at Circle of Life in Springdale. He was born on November 2, 1948 in Ft. Smith to the late Blake Berry, and Billie (Bollinger) Berry of Ft. Smith. He was the loving husband of Solveig (Lundberg) Berry for 42 years.

Brent was a 24 year veteran of Wal-Mart Stores. He served in a series of positions including Merchandise Buyer of several categories, Vice President Divisional Merchandise Manager, and retired as Vice President Managing Director International Merchandise responsible for import and export programs for Wal-Mart and Sam's.

Brent developed private label programs for Wal-Mart including Equate and Popular Mechanics. He played an integral role in Wal-Mart’s expansion into Canada where he set up the infrastructure for a self-sufficient Canadian merchandising department.

Brent graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1970, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was an avid Razorback fan and followed all U of A sports. He enjoyed reading history, fantasy and science fiction. He loved to travel and visited four continents and a wide variety of countries including India, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Brent and Solveig recently traveled to Hawaii and China and took a European cruise.

Brent is survived by his mother, Billie; wife, Solveig of Rogers; son, Erik Berry of Rogers; daughter, Brynn Sims of Fayetteville; and three grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his father, Blake; and brother, Boyd Blake Berry.

A memorial service will be held at Central United Methodist Church; 2535 W. New Hope Road in Rogers on Friday, March 16th at 2 p.m. Burial to follow at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, consider donations to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or Pagnozzi Charities at www.pagnozzicharities.org.

Online memorials can be made at www.rollinsfuneral.com.