Shirley Merritt Berry

Shirley was born on May 25, 1925 in Lynch Station, Virginia, one of 10 children of the union between Andrew Y. Merritt and Ethel H. Merritt. After moving to Washington, DC, she met and married, at the age of 23, the late Augustus Leo Berry, Jr. in 1948. From this union was born two sons, Augustus Leo Berry, III and Marcus Tasco Berry, and two daughters Denise Antoinette Berry and Vernae Elizabeth Martin.

She was a devoted Christian and loved gospel music. She was a homemaker first and foremost, caring for her four children in a loving and committed way. Shirley loved children - her own, her grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, neighbor kids, and those she taught and mentored in the District of Columbia Public School System Head Start Program.

Shirley did not begin her career in the school system until six years after the birth of her youngest son. She worked in the school system for 28 years and received a special recognition for her work with young children that noted she was a pioneer in the Head Start Program and enriched the lives of many children and parents.

Some of her favorite pastimes before the onset of her illness included working in her yard at 4013 Fifth Street in Washington, DC and making sure to plant her marigolds in the right places, reading the Washington Post daily, watching (and interacting with) a variety of TV game shows, having card games with friends and family, preparing Sunday dinners for her children and grands, and hanging out with her sisters at the shopping malls and the casinos. Her sisters (Mary, Sarah, Edith and Hannah) were, and will always be, her best friends. She loved birthday parties, the Christmas Season and all of the family gatherings on holidays and weekends.

Shirley was a hard worker but always found time for her sisters and brothers. She was there to help with their caregiving needs, and that of her mother, as only family can provide.

She leaves to mourn her daughters Denise and Vernae, her son Marcus and daughter-in-law Sebrina; four grandchildren (Angelee, Marcus, Dax and Brandon), two granddaughter in-laws, great and great-great grandchildren, her former daughter-in-law Dayle Hawthorne, MD, a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, Augustus Leo Berry, Jr.; her first borne son, Augustus Leo Berry, III; four beloved sisters – Mary White, Sarah Farrington-Collins, Edith Woods and Hannah Finney; and her five loving brothers – George Merritt, Marcus Merritt, William Merritt, Andrew Merritt and Russell Merritt.