If we are fortunate, we are blessed to encounter those who change the arc of our lives and lead us on a new and wonderfully mysterious journey. Nick Berezenko was such a person. He touched many lives in this manner and those who were lucky enough to be in near orbit with him are better for it.
Nick passed away at his home in Pine Arizona Thursday evening, November 18, finally succumbing to his multiple chronic diseases of COPD, diabetes, and scoliosis of the spine. These illnesses increasingly challenged his ability to maintain his amazing energy and joy of life. Yet even to the end, his spirit remained strong and his love undiminished for the world around him as well as the many people he cared deeply about. To those who loved him and knew him well, his passing provides a sense of relief mixed with the sorrow of knowing we will no longer share this temporary space with him.
Nicholas Berezenko Jr. was born October 8, 1945, in a displaced persons camp in Munich, Germany and spent his early childhood moving with his parents between Germany and Belgium. By the time they moved to Chicago when Nick was eight, he spoke German, French, Ukrainian and Russian – and then added a fifth language, English, through his high school in Illinois. He first began career as an actor in the Shakespeare Festival in Colorado, and then with the San Francisco Actors’ Workshop in California. His time in Colorado sparked his lifelong love of the West, leading him to enroll as an anthropology major at Arizona State University. He eventually helped his parents move to Arizona, settling into their log cabin nestled in the Ponderosas and junipers below the soaring cliffs of the Mogollon Rim where all three would live out the remainders of their lives.
Nick was one of those rare men who was jack of all trades and master of all of them! He could repair a car in the wilds of an unfrequented dirt road, craft a costume and compose a score for a modern dance, bring tears to tourists’ eyes with an evening slide show, or capture the beauty of a pool or petal with both camera and pen. After college Nick worked as a park naturalist in the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Pt. Reyes, which also saw the birth of his passion and acumen for photography. After a stint in newspaper reporting with the Prescott Daily Courier, he settled into the mix of freelance photography, teaching, canyoneering and choreography that would combine to bring him happiness for the rest of his life. He brought joy, beauty, and inspiration to the many people who saw his pictures, attended his courses, joined his adventures and partook of his dance concerts. Nick reveled in the perfection and mystery of the universe, and worked tirelessly to reflect this perfection in the impressive body of photographs that is one of his enduring legacies.
Throughout his life, Nick played many incredible ‘roles’ for so many of us. He was the consummate mentor, teacher, entertainer, father, friend, and soulmate. In all of his relationships he brought out the best in people, seeing each person’s goodness and gifts and used his wiles, wit and wisdom to polish these rough stones into brilliant gems of one sort or another.
Nick is survived by the love of his life, Su von Mazo, her daughter Gabrielle von Mazo and her partner Cody Florence, their son, Coden, and many friends who were like family to him. He is pre-deceased by his sister, who perished many years ago in Europe and by his mother, Angelina, and father, Nicholas Berezenko Sr. He will be buried in a private ceremony at the log cabin home he so cherished. A memorial celebration of Nick’s life will be held sometime in the New year, ideally somewhere on his beloved Mogollon Rim (details forthcoming).
