Almeada R. Berry's Obituary
Almeada Rae (Johnson) Berry loving mother of sons Lyle, Ronald, Gregory and Timothy passed peacefully on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington. Mom was born February 15, 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - the second youngest of a family of nine kids - seven girls and two boys. She left school in the ninth grade to work in a curtain dyeing business in Edmonton to help earn money to support her family. She worked long hours - her hands stained with dye. Self-sacrifice was always a part of her ethics. Mom was working as a Draftsman for the Department of Lands and Mines in Edmonton where she honed her skills in drawing and lettering when she met our father Lyle John Berry, who was stationed in Edmonton with the US Army Air Corps in 1946. They came to Great Falls, Montana with infant son Lyle in about 1948. With Dad in the military, always working two jobs, Mom had to move about with her boys every couple of years or so, helping us adapt in each new home, get accustomed to each new school, learn each new neighborhood, adapt to each new set of friends and keep us amused at the same time. In spite of our many changes, Mom was the stabilizing force in our lives that we knew we could count on. Mom and her love was always there to enable us not only to survive, but to thrive and enjoy our lives. Almeada was a wonderful artist who loved to draw and paint in oils and watercolors and decorate her home for holiday occasions. She made greeting cards for friends and family. She was a great singer who sang with the Lakewood vocal ensemble "The Memory Singers" and other groups and was an active member of the Lakewood Baptist Temple for many years. She is survived by her four sons, grandchildren Bryan, Dylan and Jennifer and her sister Hazel McAdam of Edmonton, Alberta. We will miss her dearly.
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