Ida BERRY

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BERRY: Ida Josephine Berry (Hayes) slipped away while she slept at 10:55 a.m. on Saturday August 15, 2020. Born the daughter of Sarah and John Hayes in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1927, she had a happy childhood growing up on her father’s farm with her siblings, Rachel, Florence, Alec, Joan and John. In Ireland Ida studied office management and when she turned 25 years old she, with the blessings of her parents and a promise to return for at least a visit the next two years, set off with her brother, John, for Canada. Ida arrived in Saint John and then made her way to Toronto where she quickly secured a secretarial/ office management position; her adventure in North America had begun. Although she spoke of suffering tremendous sea sickness during her trip from Ireland to Canada, she kept her promise and returned, temporarily, to Ireland to visit her family. Later she went back to Toronto, this time bringing her younger sister, Flo (Florence) at her side. Although Ida only returned once more to Ireland after her sons were born, she called and spoke to her family frequently throughout her life, often looking forward to these opportunities to check-in and catch up. In Canada, Ida and Flo enjoyed being young, spirited, independent women in Toronto, working to support themselves and often enjoying activities and attending many events together such as Allstar wrestling. They spoke often about continuing their travels to other parts of Canada and the rest of world, Australia being top on their list. It didn’t take long before they left Toronto to explore Canada and made their way across the country towards Vancouver, stopping first in Winnipeg. As life would have it, love found Flo in the new and exciting city and this is where both women would eventually marry and together begin to raise (Flo) and imagine (Ida) their families. Ida and Flo remained very close throughout the years until Flo’s death on January 21, 2011. Ida met Donald Fraser Berry, the man who would become her husband and life-long love and companion in Winnipeg. With Don’s sister having rented a room from Flo and her husband, he was destined to meet the beautiful, tenacious, vibrant woman named Ida, and when he did, it was love at first sight. Three weeks later they married on July 18, 1958. They would remain very happily married for 50 years, until his death on April 29, 2008. Despite her earlier mantra that she would never marry a farmer, Ida and Don, upon their marriage, quickly bought one of their first of many farms together and Ida happily accepted and adopted Don’s dreams as her own, working side-by-side with him, easily keeping up with the demanding 24/7 schedule that is the life of a farmer’s wife. They sold this farm months later for a profit and then bought another in Killarney, Manitoba. It was in Killarney where her two sons, Brian John (October 3, 1960) and Kevin Thomas (July 30, 1962) were born. Raising her sons on the farm, she would include them in the daily chores, even giving them little shovels to help with the grain. Once the boys were old enough to travel, they sold the Killarney farm to take a lengthy trip back to Ida’s homeland in Northern Ireland. Showing her young sons off to her family and spending time with them meant the world to Ida and the trip was something she would talk about even later into her life. Upon returning to Manitoba, Ida and Don worked in Winnipeg for a short while planning and preparing for their next farm purchase in Souris, Manitoba. The farm in Souris was turned into a dairy operation and remained so until they sold it in the 1981. Ida enjoyed watching both sons play hockey and often volunteered at the snack bar at the rink during their games. She was very proud of her sons and would boast about her children to anyone who would listen, often bragging about her pilot (Brian) and college professor (Kevin) to her friends and family. Ida worked side by side with Don in the barn every day, morning and evening, during milking time, sold milk for $1 a gallon to the locals and took pride in her home, her homemade baked bread and rolls and her well-kept and organized house and yard. They ran their dairy farm with strong, agreed upon convictions such as ‘cleanliness resulted in healthy, wholesome dairy products’, ‘honesty always counted and was expected’, ‘a hand shake meant everything’ and ‘a person’s word defined their worth’. Above all, Ida and Don believed in taking care of their farm and being frugal while doing so. Often fondly referred to as “Rainbow Farm”, the multi-colored barns located throughout the property were a result of constant upkeep and painting in an effort to keep them safe, sturdy and sound and an array of leftover paint colors that would be used before more paint was purchased. Together, Ida and Don built a very successful, well recognized dairy farm and they won many awards over the years. Once selling the farm in Souris, they bought another farm in Oak Lake, Manitoba where they frequently enjoyed dancing and each other’s company without the demanding work of the dairy farm. Ida and Don remained in Oak Lake until they retired from farming in 1998. Upon retiring, Ida and Don moved to Carberry, Manitoba where Ida also met her wonderful friend Kay; she and Kay remained close friends throughout the rest of her life, talking on the phone even during some of her last hours. They lived in Carberry until they moved to Winnipeg in 2007 to be closer to her son Brian’s family and her sister Flo. In Winnipeg, Ida enjoyed her grandchildren, Carl and Sophia, dropping in to visit after school, reading her favorite books, dinners with Brian’s family, watching curling and game shows on TV, and walking downtown to have, often daily, coffee at McDonalds with friends. Ida is outlived by her sister and brother, Joan and Alec of Dungannon Northern Ireland, both sons, Brian (Margo) and Kevin (Erin), one grandson (Carl), three granddaughters (Sophia, Shaun and Riley), her sister Flo’s sons (Michael and John) and daughter (Joan), her good friend Kay in Carberry (Canada) and her niece (Evelyn); they are now left to remember Ida with love and many special memories as are several other nieces, nephews, friends and additional family. A special thank you is expressed to her home care assistant (Maggie) who added much needed and appreciated help and support to Ida in her last weeks and days. At a future time Ida will be joined with her deceased husband (Don) in a memorial celebration for the two and the spreading of their ashes. In lieu of cards and flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Hockey Canada Foundation, the Curling Canada Foundation or another charity of choice.

As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 29, 2020