Patio Furniture
James Kenneth Berry had two passions in life: family and patio furniture.
Nearly three decades ago, he combined the two when he opened Berry Patio Furniture in Broward County.
Berry, whose business flourished from a small pipe furniture shop into a popular Davie store that sells high-end patio furniture, died of colon and lung cancer Sunday at his Davie home. He was 71.
Berry fought the disease for the past 11 years, and he continued to go to work everyday, greeting customers and offering advice to young employees.
‘’The business was his life,'’ said his wife, Vivien. “It will continue to be his legacy.'’
Born in 1935 in Mineral Wells, Texas, Berry and his family moved to Amarillo, where he spent his childhood.
He attended West Texas State University on a sports scholarship, playing football and running track.
Berry began studying veterinary medicine, but he later pursued a career in business.
After college, he took a job in Little Rock, Ark., as the vice president of sales for Dillard’s department store.
Berry — known as ‘’Ken'’ to friends and family — worked closely with Dillard’s founder, William T. Dillard.
‘’He wore thousand-dollar suits,'’ she said. “He was very happy and loved the lifestyle.'’
But in the early 1970s, after about a decade with Dillard’s, the work became too stressful.
It was then that Berry moved to South Florida and began selling parts for pipe furniture.
Soon after, he opened Berry Pipe Furniture in Dania.
As the business became more successful, Berry added new, upscale inventory and renamed the store Berry Patio Furniture. In the early 1980s, the company had five stores in Broward, with locations in Pembroke Pines, Dania, Tamarac, Coconut Creek and Davie.
Today, it has one location at 4352 S. University Dr. in Davie.
Berry, the company’s president, enjoyed helping customers and acting as a father figure to young employees.
‘’He thought about the business first thing in the morning,'’ Vivien Berry said. “He worked very hard and pushed himself.'’
As a reward for his hard work, Berry loved traveling with his wife. The couple visited Canada, Alaska, Venezuela, the Caribbean and Europe. A few weeks ago, they visited Hawaii.
In addition to his wife, Berry is survived by his children, Brent Berry, Michelle Sapp, Katherine Kallal Campbell and Kenneth Kallal; grandchildren Christopher Posvar, Travis Sapp and Kristin Berry; sisters Evelyn Patterson and Dorothy Helfley; and a brother, Bruce Berry.
The service will be at 11 a.m. today at Forest Lawn Funeral Home South, 2401 SW 64th Ave., Davie.
source: miamiherald
