June 23 1929 July 24 2019
Rev. William Wayne Berry – “God is Good All the Time!” Rev. William Wayne Berry was born on June 23, 1929, in Blainesville, a small community outside Luray, Virginia. His parents were the late Irene Berry and Floyd Taylor. He was raised by his great grandmother Lizzie Good, attending community schools until he moved to New York to live with his mother and younger sister Arlelia (Niles). There he attended the Bronx High School but ended his schooling prematurely when he joined the armed forces. Wayne served in the 1st Infantry and was stationed in Korea during the war. He served for 6 years as a photographic tech and engineer, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. He was honorably discharged in July 1956 and returned to his hometown, just in time for the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Annual Homecoming festivities. There he reconnected with a childhood friend, Edna Martine Meadows Lewis, the single mother of two little girls. A brief courtship began and they married three months later in November 1956. There are relatively few men who would sacrifice their lives for the happiness of others. Fewer still would set aside their own desires and aspirations for children who are not their own. However, this was the legacy of the man Sharon and Vermelle would love and call “Daddy” for the next 62 years. The new family moved to Washington, DC where Wayne resumed his high school education at the Armstrong Vocational High School. After graduation, he then entered the American University. He secured a position with the US Department of Agriculture as a photographer. However, after his division relocated to another state, he was forced to find other employment to support his family. Thus, he became a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service for several years (through snow, rain, heat, and gloom of night) until he left after finding a more ideal position suited to his photography skills. In the meantime, he relocated his family from the city out to the suburbs of Prince George’s County. Wayne became a laboratory photographer with the US Department of Commerce, specifically with NOAA and the weather service. His job was collecting data sent from weather satellites and developing pictures for meteorologists and weather-reporting services. He continued with NOAA until his retirement in June 1979. A long-time member of Tabernacle Baptist Church in DC, Wayne served faithfully as a Sunday School teacher and deacon. After his retirement from government service, he answered God’s call to enter full-time ministry — a call that had come 11 years earlier. After attending classes at the Washington Bible College in Lanham, Maryland, he preached his trial sermon at Tabernacle and was ordained by the Baptist Minister’s Conference of Washington, DC and Vicinity in May 1983. Wayne became an Assistant Pastor at Tabernacle and would have gladly remained in service to the senior pastor. However, in September 1984, he was asked to return to his childhood community’s church in Virginia to become the senior pastor. The marquee of his small church loudly proclaimed, “God is Good All the Time!” Rev. Berry, with First Lady Edna Berry serving at his side, set out to become a change agent in his small community through teaching, outreach, and evangelism. He worked to bring many souls to Christ, with the little creek near his church as His baptismal pool. He was a highly respected leader both in his community, Baptist associations, and among the local clergy. During his more than 25 years as the pastor of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, he helped to mentor, train, and prepare aspiring ministers who themselves went on to pastor their own churches. Thus, through his influence, Rev. Berry touched the lives of thousands. Wayne’s joy was fishing, cooking, and spending quality and quantity time with his wife and daughters. He and his wife, who he affectionately called “Marty”, spent many of their early years together traveling the world. They set sail to ports in the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska. They flew the skies to distant lands in Europe, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. But, when it came the time to really settle down, they returned “home” to their little red and white house in the Shenandoah Valley in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rev. Berry’s legacy and spiritual DNA will be passed on to succeeding generations by his loving wife of 62 years, Edna “Marty”; his daughters and their husbands (Sharon and Hampton Conway, Jr.; Vermelle and Vernon Greene, Sr.); then through his grandchildren (Lori and Anthony Austin, Sr.; Hampton Conway, III; Lynn and Vernon Greene, Jr.; and Vanessa and Jesse Davis); his devoted sister Arlelia Niles; nieces Monique Niles and Carollera Conway; “adopted sons”, Arlo Allen, Jr. and Raymond Jones. Even unto the third generation of his 17 great-grandchildren and great-nieces who will boldly proclaim the Name of Jesus Christ! The memories of his life and love of Jesus will be treasured by them all. Funeral Service will be on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 10AM at Life Point Church, 10395 Berry Road, Waldorf, Maryland 20603. Interment on Monday, August 5, 2019 at 1PM at Maryland Veterans Cemetery, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, MD 20623. Memorial donations in Rev. Berry’s name are asked to the Child Evangelism Fellowship of the Greater Washington DC Metro Area, PO Box 91823, Washington, DC 20090. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Rev. William Wayne Berry please visit our Sympathy Store.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Rev William Wayne Berry June 23 1929 July 24 2019.
Raymond Funeral Service, Pennsylvania
Death notice for the town of: La Plata, state: Maryland