Mary Jewell Berry (Sapp), 84, of Gansevoort died Friday, August 25, 2023, after a long, hard fight with lymphoma.
She was born to the late Byron and Mary Louise Sapp on February 10, 1939 in Mt. Vernon, OH. She graduated from St. Vincent de Paul High School in 1957. She married Robert Wade Berry in 1960 and soon became a Navy wife, where she quickly learned to make new friends, say goodbye a lot, build resiliency, and be a single parent for months at a time without complaint. She pursued her own goals and was awarded a diploma from Marymount Hospital School for Medical Record Technicians located in Garfield Heights, OH, and received her credential of an Accredited Record Technician (ART) from the American Association of Medical Record Librarians, now known as the American Health Information Management Association.
Mary worked in healthcare in several capacities including the Director of Medical Records at Saratoga Hospital and a healthcare consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was instrumental in the development of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ product SMART (Systemic Monitoring and Review Technology) for inpatient and outpatient coding quality evaluation processes and compliance reviews. Even as a busy, full-time working mother, she always found time to support her daughters in their pursuits, whether it was attending high school football games on chilly Friday nights where her older daughter performed on the dance team or sitting on rock-hard gymnasium bleachers while her younger daughter competed in gymnastics.
After retiring she and Bob moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia, where together they enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and shooting trap at the Rappahannock Pistol and Rifle Club. Her other favorite pastimes included playing dominos with friends and shopping for the perfect greeting card for any and every occasion to send to all who knew her, with a personal message written in the most beautiful cursive penmanship you’ve ever seen.
In her seventies, she studied for and became a licensed Pharmacy Technician in VA, and she cherished her memories of volunteering alongside the dedicated staff at the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic located in Kilmarnock, VA, who make tremendous contributions to Virginia’s under-insured and uninsured.
Mary moved back to the Saratoga Springs area as a widow in 2018 where she frequently reconnected with old friends over lunch dates, forged new friendships with her wonderful neighbors, and frequented the many shops on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings Byron (Barney), Charles T. (Timothy), Kevin, and Gretchen.
She is survived by her daughters, Bronwyn “Brandy” (Brian) Craig of Glen Cove, NY, and Paige (Bradley) Allen of Albany, NY; cousins-in-law Maurice Bouffioux and his wife Carol of Dayton OH; Barbara Comer and Margaret Knight of Clarksburg, WV; ex-sisters-in-law Sauni and Marcie; nieces Amy, Kathy, Charissa, and Heather; nephew Sean, and countless friends.
She leaves a legacy of strength, love, and memories and will be greatly missed by her daughters whom she affectionately referred to as either Georgie or Georgianna, and sons-in-law Bradley and Brian and all her knew her.
The family especially wishes to thank Dr. Mihir Raval and the staff at New York Oncology Hematology in Albany for their kindness and gracious and gentle care during her illness. In addition, the family would like to thank the surgical ICU nurses and staff at Albany Medical Center for the exceptional care given during the last days of her life.
Relatives and friends may call 4:30-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. A funeral home service will be held at 7:00 p.m.
A graveside memorial will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Gerald BH Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Road, Schuylerville, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic, P.O. Box 1694, Kilmarnock, VA, 22482 (804-435-0575) info@nnmfhc.org.
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com, where you will also find a link to the live stream of Mary’s service.
