Lucy Barnard Berry Burgess

She graduated from Ithaca High School in 1956 and Ithaca College in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History. Her first job out of college was working for the Library of Congress. There she met her husband, J. Richard Berry (deceased). They were married by Richard’s father in Elon, NC in 1961. Together they had three sons, Marc, Dane and Brandon.

The family traversed the country several times living in North Carolina, California, Texas,

Vermont and Virginia before finally settling in Lucy’s hometown of Ithaca. Never one to stay idle, Lucy got a job at Olin Library, Cornell University, in the department of rare books, where she stayed until she retired in 2004. She loved her job so much that even after she retired, she went back part-time for a temporary assignment that lasted until 2009.

Lucy loved going to museums and learning about history and other cultures. She could often be found watching documentaries about far off places. She also enjoyed traveling to far off places. She also enjoyed scouring flea markets and yard sales for vintage treasures. One of her prized possessions was her vintage hat pin collection.

Lucy never met a stranger and was loved by all who knew her. She loved to laugh, and she had a very keen sense of humor; one might even call her mischievous as she was fond of a good practical joke. Her passions in life were her family and books. Her entire career was spent as a librarian, and she worked in community libraries in each of the states she lived in addition to her time at Cornell. She was passionate about reading and community access to books. She volunteered her time at several different libraries in support of literacy. She herself was a prolific reader and often had 2 or 3 books she was reading at a time. Her favorite genres were historical fiction and mysteries.

Lucy is survived by her sons, Marc (Gina) Berry, Dane (Holley) Berry, Brandon (Cindy) Berry. Grandchildren: Nick Polio, Jamie Saindon, Brien (Melissa) Berry, Wesley Berry, Samantha Berry, Cosette Berry and Savanna Berry. Great-Grandchildren: Aeris Saindon, Sophie Saindon, Evie Saindon, Benjamin Berry and Nova Berry, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, J. Richard Berry, parents, David and Elanor Barnard, and her sisters Ellen Barnard Culver and Joanna Barnard Bergsten.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 10am at the First Wesleyan Church in Burlington, NC. A private family burial will be held after the memorial service.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Read Ahead Organization at readahead.org or your local library.