In Memory of Gail A. Berger (January 6, 1954 – June 28, 2021)
Rev. Gail A. Berger died on June 28, 2021, at the age of 67.
Gail was born on January 6, 1954, in Flushing, NY to Alice (Montague) and William Berger. She lived the first ten years of her life in Seaford, a suburb of Levittown on Long Island until her family moved to Boston, MA. Religious values and being part of a church community were important parts of Gail’s upbringing. She was raised Catholic but had both Protestant and Jewish family members.
Gail graduated from the Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, MA and then received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Trinity College, Washington D.C. (1976). From 1976 to 1978, she taught junior high special students at the Kennedy Institute, a private school for special needs students in Washington, D.C. The students there were the most diverse group of people she had ever encountered. They came from the poorest neighborhoods of the inner cities and from the wealthiest suburbs; yet they were all connected by the physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities that transcended such differences. Working with these children and their families challenged her theologically. She began to question the Catholic belief system in light of her experiences and started to search for a more inclusive religion.
After two years of teaching Gail moved back to New England. She worked in both the public and private sectors writing grants and developing planning proposals. In 1985, she received a Certificate in Technical Writing from the University of Lowell, MA. She also received a master’s degree from the Conway School of Landscape Design, MA. Over the years, she realized that her engagement with the grant writing work did not feel quite as fulfilling; but her experience at the Kennedy Institute never left her.
In 1982, Gail attended the First Universalist Society in Salem, MA. She found a spiritual community where she belonged and realized that she wanted to live her life in the spirit of this community. She embraced Unitarian Universalism’s message of freedom and tolerance in religious ideas and expression, and in 1987, became a member of the First Universalist Society in Salem. After years of spiritual struggle, Gail made the transition from Catholicism to no religious affiliation to Unitarian Universalism. She got involved with the First Unitarian Society, where she chaired the Membership, Finance, and Nominating Committees, and served on the Board of Trustees. She was a delegate at GA and attended the New England Leadership School. She loved this work. Her involvement with church and the Leadership School provided her with a firsthand look at the work of ministry. She realized that a theological context was the appropriate place for her to pursue her deepest concerns and values. She enrolled at Harvard Divinity School, MA and graduated with her Master of Divinity in 2000.
Rev. Berger was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry on April 30, 2000, by the First Parish in Cambridge, MA.
As a primary caregiver for her parents, Rev. Berger decided not to seek a full-time settlement. She served as a minister in affiliation with the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church (NSUU), Danvers, MA. At the NSUU, she led worship when needed, facilitated the Small Group Ministry program for several years and helped to institute a Religious Service Committee during the church’s ministerial transition. Her understanding of worship nurtured the committee through their tender first year. In 2007, she initiated, organized, helped publicize and presented a program: “Caring for our Aging Loved Ones.” This community service presentation was an organizational feat, attended both by the congregation and the larger North Shore community.
Rev. Berger provided on-call ministerial services for colleagues requiring coverage for Sunday mornings, pastoral care, weddings, and memorial services. First Parish in Concord, MA had been the beneficiary of Gail’s “on-call services” for colleagues as well as the churches in Cambridge, Arlington, Newburyport, Malden, and Amherst.
In community, Gail provided her services to a diverse group of people. She co-chaired Boston by Foot, MA (walking tours) (1982-1989); and was a Hotline volunteer at The Samaritans (suicide prevention hotline) (1982-1984). She was a Cyclist/Volunteer for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge for the Jimmy Fund (1984); a Platelet donor for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA (1993-1998); and a volunteer for the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, MA (1993-1994).
At all stages of life, Gail enjoyed a wide range of interests and hobbies: art, music, writing, reading, travel and bicycling. She enjoyed novels by contemporary authors such as Barbara Kingsolver and Tom Wolfe, as well as nonfiction. She was a gifted painter, illustrator, sculptor, and maker of the fine stained-glass pieces. Her preferences in music ranged from folk, to rock, to jazz, classical, country & western, and reggae. She also liked to cook. She was an avid cyclist and rode very early on Saturday mornings with a group of friends known as the North Shore Cyclopaths.
Gail is survived by her sister Kathy Ockenfels and partner Ernie Arellano; her brother Don Berger and wife Cynthia Moss; her niece Natalie; and nephews: Jackson and Peter Berger; as well as a great group of very special friends, many she’s kept close since high school and college.
A celebration of her life was held by her friends and family on Saturday, October 23, 2021, in her recent retirement community in Durham, North Carolina.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Habitat for Humanity International, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, or the Northeast Animal Shelter of Salem, Massachusetts.