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His Life

Will S Berger Obituary

October 17, 2013

William Sage Berger, who was raised from his first year in Port Angeles, passed away on June 7, 2013, in Spokane. He came into the world on the morning of October 19, 1978, in Portland, Oregon, weighing a mere 3 lbs. 3ozs. He was 10 weeks early, a miracle baby saved by the skilled Doctors and Nurses at St Vincent’s Hospital and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Every miraculous day of his life was a gift to his parents, Megan and Bill Berger.

It was a rocky start, but Will seized life, and made the most of it. His summers from age 4 through 12 were spent in Southeast Alaska, on his family’s commercial fishing boat. In high school, he worked at his family's video store in Port Angeles, and while in college worked as a “trail dog” (crew) for Olympic National Park. During his last year living on the Peninsula, in 2002, he worked at 7 Cedars Casino. In 2006, he returned briefly to the sea, crewing on an Alaskan longliner in the outer Aleutian Islands.

Will graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1997 and from Peninsula College in 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Eastern Washington University in 2002, and a Master of Arts degree in criminal justice from Washington State University in 2007. While studying at WSU in 2005 and 2006, Will worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and volunteered for the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office. After completing 300 course hours of training, on August 27, 2005, he was sworn in as a volunteer deputy sheriff for Whitman County.

Will was curious about the world, and saw much of it. He taught English for almost three years in Seoul, South Korea, first at a private school, from July 2007 to October 2008, and then for Namseoul University, from the fall of 2009 until the end of 2010. In that period, he visited China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In the last decade he also made two trips to Europe and one to Central America. He spoke three languages in addition to English.

Will loved sports, competition, and most of all, his teammates. Regardless of his athletic talents, you wanted Will Berger on your team when the contest began. He played on the basketball team of Peninsula College, and on the tennis team of Eastern Washington University. In Seoul, he played Gaelic Football and soccer for the Seoul Gaels and St Pats, bonding with Irish and English teammates who worked hard and played hard in a foreign country. Will Berger will forever be a Coug, a Rough Rider, a Pirate, a Screaming Eagle, a Gael and a St Pat.

If Will loved his teammates, they loved him back. In their letters and emails, he is “kind, friendly, interesting and funny”, “a true gentleman”, and has a “warm heart full of genuine kindness.” They are “privileged and honored  ... to have been Will's friend”. He “made me a better person” with his “loyalty, respect and courage.”

Will moved to Spokane, WA, in the spring of 2011, and was employed by Mark Johnson of Johnson Seed Company. Each of them thought he got the better of this deal. Sweeter yet, Will’s best friend Seth Robertson had relocated to Spokane with his wife Sarah, to be closer to family and roots. Along with Sarah’s mother Lisa, these completed Will’s family in Spokane. Will Berger was ready to settle down.

On June 6, 2013, Will S. Berger died at the hands of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department, in an abandoned parking lot and in full view of a dozen Spokane citizens and a dozen Spokane civil servants. That very day, Will had signed papers to close on his first house, just 10 blocks from the home of Seth, Sarah and baby Bennett. He had played 18 holes of golf with his realtor and had given his father a tour of the house. Will Berger was unarmed, and had committed no crime. He was wearing flip flops, gym shorts, a tank top and a ball cap. He was tasered five times. He was battered and strangled in a choke hold. Will was pronounced brain dead at Sacred Heart Hospital early on the morning of June 7, 2013, but his body was kept alive for several more days, so that some of his organs could heal. The Spokane County Coroner has ruled Will’s death a Homicide but no one has been charged with a crime.

Will S. Berger was an organ donor by choice. LifeCenter NW, a federally designated nonprofit organ procurement organization, managed to save several of Will’s organs, and harvested them in the early morning of June 10. They treated Will and his family with love and respect as the family cried through those days. Four different Northwest families shared in Will’s ultimate gift and all are doing well. Will often said, “Either we all matter or no one matters,” and it was clear, ‘we all matter’. The Berger family is glad for this gift of life.

The Berger family has started the ‘Will B Fund’ for the purpose of changing the policy and practices of Law Enforcement entities. Donations to the Will B Fund can be forwarded to: Will B Fund, 3320 Upland Lane, Port Angeles WA 98362.

Will Berger was survived by his parents, his brother David and David’s wife Amber, his grandparents Bill and Lois Berger, his grandmother Muriel Van Horn, his aunts Wendy Chambers, Jennifer Miller, Uncle Douglas Miller, Shannon Jacobs and Uncle Barry Jacobs, his cousins Robert Chambers, Clay McClure, Andrew Miller, Sam Miller, Lawson Feltman, his Spokane family, Mark Johnson, Lisa Johnson, Seth Robertson, Sarah Robertson, their daughter Bennet and many friends at home and abroad.

 He was preceded in death by his grandmother Jane Berger and his grandfather James Van Horn.

Will’s body was cremated in Spokane on June 12 and his ashes have been spread around the globe by friends and relatives. A celebration of his life was held at his parents' home on July 5, 2013.