April 26, 2021
by robert berry
Petronella (“Pat”) Berry died peacefully on April 10 at the age of 89, surrounded by her loved ones.
Petronella was born October 10, 1931 to parents Reinier and Hendrina Gerritsen in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. She moved to the United States in the 1950’s after marrying Raymond Stack with whom she had one child, Michael Stack. Pat later married Bob Berry with whom she enjoyed 36 years of marriage until his passing. Together they raised Mike and a second son, Robert Berry Jr.
After briefly living in Texas, Pat moved to Southern California where she lived for the remainder of her life, raising her family in Venice Beach, Huntington Beach and Westchester. She enjoyed fashion and often modeled at charity events. She was a member of several women’s clubs, including the Ladies of Westchester Elks and the Playa del Rey Women’s Club and shared lifelong friendships with women from these clubs. One of her favorite annual events was going to opening day horse races at Hollywood Park with friends and taking a photo with the jockeys.
She had a creative spirit which led to her opening a small retail shop called Petronella’s, selling wrought-iron furniture which she would buy in Mexico, driving down in a van with her husband to bring it back – turned out to be more of a hobby but she had fun with it. She was an avid DIY designer well before it became trendy. She loved decorating and re-decorating many of her residences, particularly in the blue and white Dutch motif. Her family would often come home to find that she had completely rearranged all of the living room furniture, sliding it around on the wood floors. This went on well into her 70’s. She also had a passion for collecting dishes for all occasions (at one point, she had 14 different full sets of dishes). Christmas decorations were another passion, as themes and colors changed from year to year. Always resourceful and creative, her fashionable outfits and homes reflected her impeccable sense of style.
Pat was devoted to her family and pets (dog “Ace” and cat “Snooky” were her favorites) and adored her granddaughter to whom she was known as “Oma”. Very outgoing and passionate, she also enjoyed a good cup of hot tea, reading gossip magazines, pumping nickels into slot machines in Las Vegas, playing gin rummy, antique-ing, gardening and flowers (especially roses and tulips).
Her strength, passion, and sense of humor will be greatly missed by her sons, Michael and Robert, daughter-in-law Laurie, granddaughter Kristin, her cousins Willy and Cor in Holland, and her friends. Due to Covid restrictions no formal services are planned. Instead, plant some flowers in your own yard in fond remembrance of Petronella.
Petronella was born October 10, 1931 to parents Reinier and Hendrina Gerritsen in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. She moved to the United States in the 1950’s after marrying Raymond Stack with whom she had one child, Michael Stack. Pat later married Bob Berry with whom she enjoyed 36 years of marriage until his passing. Together they raised Mike and a second son, Robert Berry Jr.
After briefly living in Texas, Pat moved to Southern California where she lived for the remainder of her life, raising her family in Venice Beach, Huntington Beach and Westchester. She enjoyed fashion and often modeled at charity events. She was a member of several women’s clubs, including the Ladies of Westchester Elks and the Playa del Rey Women’s Club and shared lifelong friendships with women from these clubs. One of her favorite annual events was going to opening day horse races at Hollywood Park with friends and taking a photo with the jockeys.
She had a creative spirit which led to her opening a small retail shop called Petronella’s, selling wrought-iron furniture which she would buy in Mexico, driving down in a van with her husband to bring it back – turned out to be more of a hobby but she had fun with it. She was an avid DIY designer well before it became trendy. She loved decorating and re-decorating many of her residences, particularly in the blue and white Dutch motif. Her family would often come home to find that she had completely rearranged all of the living room furniture, sliding it around on the wood floors. This went on well into her 70’s. She also had a passion for collecting dishes for all occasions (at one point, she had 14 different full sets of dishes). Christmas decorations were another passion, as themes and colors changed from year to year. Always resourceful and creative, her fashionable outfits and homes reflected her impeccable sense of style.
Pat was devoted to her family and pets (dog “Ace” and cat “Snooky” were her favorites) and adored her granddaughter to whom she was known as “Oma”. Very outgoing and passionate, she also enjoyed a good cup of hot tea, reading gossip magazines, pumping nickels into slot machines in Las Vegas, playing gin rummy, antique-ing, gardening and flowers (especially roses and tulips).
Her strength, passion, and sense of humor will be greatly missed by her sons, Michael and Robert, daughter-in-law Laurie, granddaughter Kristin, her cousins Willy and Cor in Holland, and her friends. Due to Covid restrictions no formal services are planned. Instead, plant some flowers in your own yard in fond remembrance of Petronella.