Lillian Berry

Cora Lillian Berry, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2016. She is predeceased by her parents, and 4 of her five siblings. Her husband of 58 years died in 2003. Lillian is survived by her son, David Berry, and daughter, Diane Gunther, 5 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and her sister, Betty Jones. Cora Lillian Kyllo was born to John and Johanna Kyllo in Big Sandy, Montana on October 22, 1922 and grew up in North Dakota. She and her sister, Betty, were the two youngest in the family. Both of them remember playing together as kids and they were close all of their lives. They were even next door neighbors while their children were young. After graduating from high school Lillian was a nanny for a year. She lived in Florida and Indianapolis before moving to Denver Colorado, where she worked for the IRS for four years, and met the love of her life, Lester Berry, who was in the Air Force at the time. They married in North Dakota but lived most of the rest of their lives in the same house in Long Beach, California. Les owned and operated the Alamitos Bay Market on the corner of 62nd and Ocean Blvd and Lillian was the ideal housewife and mother. They had one daughter, Diane, and one son, David. Les and Lillian were both active in church and they loved square dancing and round dancing. They were very active in their children’s lives. Lillian was the 3rd grade Sunday School teacher, President of Women’s Association at church, PTA President, and cooked dinners for large groups at church. She kept David’s football uniform spotless, was at one time Diane’s Girl Scout Leader and even David’s Boy Scout leader for a short time.

Les and Lillian made sure their son and daughter grew up with manners and gave them a strong example of how to be kind to others. Lillian was a firm believer in prayer and was on the prayer chain at her church. She loved her women’s circle at church.

After concentrating on raising her children well, Lillian found time for gardening, knitting, and reading. She always loved cooking, took food gifts to neighbors, and could manage to make big holiday dinners appear with seemingly no effort. She often made handmade gifts for friends at Christmas (often with Les’s help), and took the family with her to deliver them on the Sunday before Christmas. She loved to decorate for the holidays, canned all kinds of pickles and jams, was famous for her apple and lemon pies, and let us not forget the frosted brownies! She made jewelry and vintage purses, sewed many of her daughter’s childhood dresses, made quilts and afghans, knitted hats for hospital patients, and faithfully read her Daily Guideposts.

After the kids left the nest, Les and Lillian enjoyed quite a few lovely trips. They kept track of the grandkids and made a point of showing up for events in their lives. Lillian lived a good long life. She loved her family….and they loved her. She will be missed. A memorial service in honor of Lillian will be held at Los Altos Methodist Church in Long Beach on October 15 at 1pm. Lillian gave to many charities. In lieu of flowers, pick your own favorite one or you can support the work of her church.

Luyben Dilday Mortuary