Marion County educator Rebia Berry celebrates 97th birthday; her mom lived to 105

CANDLER − Rebia Berry celebrated her 97th birthday on April 22 surrounded by family members and many of her former students from the Fort McCoy area.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Berry said as she entered the hall at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church and was greeted by perhaps 100 well-wishers singing “Happy Birthday.”

Berry’s actual birthdate is April 20, but the family arranged to have the party at the hall two days later.

“All the people, hallelujah, thank you,” she said.

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One of Berry’s four daughters at the party, Laverne (Sandra) Williams, 68, said her mother was born when her parents were in Palmetto, Florida, but they returned home to Fort McCoy.

Williams said her father, Willie Berry, a glass bottom boat captain trainer and sign maker at Silver Springs, died in 2014.

Rebia Berry’s mother, Pearl Reddick, lived to age 105. She died in 2013.

Williams said an Ancestry.com DNA test indicated the family ancestry traces back to Sardinia, Italy.

The website ItalianHeritage.com states “Sardinia is well-known for its high number of centenarians: In May 2010, there were about 350, on average about 22 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to an average of 8 to 10 in other parts of the world.”

Rebia Berry was a longtime educator

Rebia Berry served as an educator for over 30 years with Marion County Public Schools.

Pastor Julius Beard of Emmanuel Christian Life Center in east Marion County joined about a dozen other former students of Berry’s, led by James Collins, to sing “Meet Me at the River.”

“(Rebia Berry) is an icon in Fort McCoy,” Beard said.

Beard attended the gathering with his three brothers: Jackie, Curtis and Beauregard. All four brothers were Berry’s students. Curtis Beard is a retired Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy with 30 years service.

In an oral history recorded for the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries on Sept 27, 2019, Rebia Berry discussed her family and career.

She spoke of going to Bethune-Cookman College and serving as a teacher, before and after integration, in one-room and multi-room schools in the Fort McCoy area before working at Sparr Elementary School.

She said In the oral history recording that she loved her students. She retired in 1989.

Williams said some of her mother’s ancestors came from the Carolinas to an area in east Marion County near Burbank and Fort McCoy known as Daisy.

She said her mother is a gardener and is known to revive flowers and also enjoys reading the print version of the Star-Banner.

Many words of wisdom

Williams said one lesson her mother impressed upon her was: ”No one is better than anyone else; your actions determine what kind of person you are.”

Ronald Lamarr Sellers, Berry’s cousin, said Berry encouraged people to treat others with the “utmost respect.”

Rebia Berry's four children −Williams, Linda Berry, Gwendolyn Martin and Carolyn Stevenson − gathered with her at the party.

Martin described her mom as “very, very loving (and) very, very supportive” and Linda Berry said her mother is “calm” and a “good mother, you could talk to her.”

Williams said her parents required their children to attend Sunday School and take piano lessons.

Rebia Berry has five living grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren.

Rebia Berry’s great-grandson Michael Nwachukwu, 16, provided keyboard music for the party. Julian Newell, 11, offered a prayer for his great-grandmother and Gavin Willie Webb, 7, Rebia Berry’s great-great-grandson, was at the party.

Mikael Nwachukwu, 3, was Rebia Berry's youngest great-grandchild at the party.

Another party guest, former student and Prophetess Gladys Collins McCray of Fort McCoy, called Rebia Perry an “angel and woman of God.”

The Rev. Curtis Houston of Pleasant Grove Missionary Church in Fort McCoy, where Rebia Berry attends services, commented she is 60 years his senior.

Alvin Franklin, 53, Rebia Berry’s eldest grandchild, said he had her as teacher for three elementary grades.

He joked that being a grandchild in her classes got him “no special favors.”

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: 97th birthday is joyous occasion for Rebia Berry and her family