Carolyn Walden Berry

The laughter from the kitchen was uniquely Carolyn’s. As the oldest and only girl in her Lamoni Iowa home helping raise her younger brothers, to the parties she loved to host with her gregarious husband, Carolyn was an uplifting spirit and a great cook. As Mozart played in the background she would carry on a conversation about progressive politics or American literature while getting you involved by setting the table or opening another bottle of California wine. On Saturday, May 16, 2026, Carolyn died peacefully following a brief period of hospice. She was 96.

As soon as she was old enough to get out an explore the world, she left Iowa to work as a waitress, first in Yellowstone, then at the lodge at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. In her free time Carolyn was a rock climber. There are pictures of her, ropes at her side, on top of the Grand Teton. The money she saved serving tourists went to buy a top-notch flute. Receiving a bachelor’s degree in English at Kansas University, and then her master’s degree in education at the University of Pittsburgh, Carolyn had an impressive career as a high school teacher.

Al Berry was, among many things, a party crasher. One night in Denver, he was doing just that when he arrived to find two parties next door to each other. He accidentally went to the wrong one. It was there where, as the life of the party in a stranger’s apartment, he met Carolyn. She was his intellectual match, and a moderating force. Carolyn and Al became what is remembered as a “Fun Couple.” Married among Carolyn’s small-town family in Iowa, they moved to Schenectady New York where Jefferson was born. Al was a transient General Electric publicity writer, moving to Virginia for a short period of time before returning to upstate New York to have Hank join the family.

Carolyn got her teaching career started with Hank’s kindergarten while studying for her master’s degree. Once Hank and Jefferson were off to elementary school, she worked at the roughest middle school in Pittsburgh for a year before moving onto an equally tough Schenley High School. When Al’s advertising career moved to Madison Avenue, she enjoyed her classrooms at Stanford (CT) High School.

All this lead up to Carolyn becoming a Californian. In 1967, moving with Al’s job once again, the Berrys set up a household on the side of a hill in Malibu. This is back when people would ask, “why would you want to live all the way out there?” She commuted into Venice High School where she taught English and American Literature classes as well as being the founding faculty advisor for the Venice High School newspaper, The Oarsman. During her 20 years at Venice, she and Al became active with the Office of the Americas, educating the public about the U.S. Government’s clandestine wars in Central America.

Al’s debilitating stroke in 1987 eventually ended Carolyn’s teaching career with little fanfare. Following the 1993 Malibu Fire that destroyed her entire hillside neighborhood, and after Al’s death a few months later, she worked enthusiastically with her friend JoAnne Broderick to rebuild her home on the hill. 21410 Calle del Barco remains a spectacular home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But it was too big for just her and while the neighborhood came back, the neighbors by-and-large didn’t. She moved first to Marina del Rey, then to Carmel Valley and finally to Broadmead Assisted Living in North Baltimore County, Maryland.

Carolyn is survived by her two sons: Jefferson Berry (Barbara O’Connell) and Hank Berry (Gail Berrigan); her three granddaughters: Alia Berry, Briana Berry (Ross Edwards) and Hendrix Berry (Noah McKenna); her four great-grandchildren: Iris, Julian and Edith Edwards, and Sulise McKenna.

Celebrations of her life will take place in Leverett, Massachusetts Saturday June 13, 2026 at 3:00 pm and in Malibu, California September 19, 2026. Carolyn will return home to Lamoni Iowa on September 22, 2026 to be interred at her family’s plot in the Rose Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be sent to Homeboy Industries (homeboyindustries.org). Homeboy was one of Carolyns most passionate causes; Homeboy Industries provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated young people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of society.