Sarah Marie Moskoff Berkey

Sarah Marie Moskoff Berkey was born when the lilacs were in bloom in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on May 20th, 1966, the oldest child of William Moskoff and Colleen McNally. She was ever industrious and made money mowing lawns, shoveling snow and worked throughout high school and college at various jobs, including Baskin-Robbins which may be where her lifelong love of ice cream began. Sarah attended Lake Forest College in Illinois, where she double majored in Literature and Philosophy (Summa Cum Laude) and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

After graduating, she worked as a paralegal at Katz Friedman, a prominent Chicago labor law firm, under her esteemed mentor, Irving M. Friedman. One of her first forays into political activism was working as an organizer for an Illinois gubernatorial campaign which led to a position as a Political Organizer for the Illinois Education Association.

It was a natural next step in 1995 for Sarah to accept a labor consultant position in Klamath Falls working for the Oregon Education Association (OEA). She went on to accept a position as a government relations organizer within the OEA which brought her to the Portland area in 1996. Sarah was immensely proud of the fact that she spent her entire professional life protecting the interests of teachers and educational staff.

Professional achievements and awards were numerous, but the greatest joy of her life was the true love she found with John Berkey, who relocated to Portland from Philadelphia in 2009 to be with Sarah. Those were the happiest years of their lives. Sarah’s circle of friends was vast and devoted. Her warmth, humor, fierce loyalty, and kindness touched the lives of all who knew her. Sarah will be remembered for her tenacity representing educator interests, her love of movies, food from every culture whether in restaurants or at home perfecting recipes, artistry in the garden, and throwing fabulous parties with signature cocktails and wine pairings.

Sarah is survived by her husband John, her mother, Colleen Marie McNally (Robert Timmer), her father, William Moskoff (Carol Gayle), her sisters, Leah Anne Moskoff and Rachel Vander Ploeg (John Vander Ploeg), her cherished nieces and nephew, and her two beloved dogs, Lily and Lucy.