David Edmund Berkeley

David Edmund Berkeley, 65, died peacefully on Dec. 26, 2020 from COPD. He was born in Newton, MA, youngest son of Edmund C. and Suzanne (Slocum) Berkeley of Newtonville. He went to public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston, graduating in 1973, and attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He was on the administrative staff of the law firm Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault in Boston for 17 years. Later he worked as an aide in the Newton Library and as a bellringer for the Salvation Army. He was a member of the Elliot House Clubhouse community in Needham for many years and was on the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition Advocacy Group, where he worked as a passionate advocate for people with mental and behavioral health issues and spoke before the legislature. He was a faithful and devoted communicant of the Second Church in Newton, UCC, and a Mason at Dalhousie Lodge in Newtonville.

David had an award-winning smile, an amazing dry sense of humor, and deep spirituality. He wrote in his journal daily and spoke fluent German. He treasured time on the shore at the family home in Chatham, enjoyed his father’s vast collection of rocks and minerals, and most of all, loved staying in touch with friends and family over the phone.

He leaves his housemate of 19 years, Jim Lotter; former partner Maurice Fontaine; and longtime friends Mona Wheeler and Martha Rayber. He leaves cousin Mary Young, nieces and nephews Pamela, Philip, and Charlene Wallace, brothers Charles B Wallace and George W Wallace, and many other cousins, nieces and grand-nieces, nephews and grand-nephews. He was beloved in his communities of friends at Second Church in West Newton, the Elliot House Clubhouse, and in Newtonville neighborhoods. David made friends wherever he went and had a special gift of ministering to others. He will be greatly missed by all.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Second Church of West Newton, 60 Highland Street, West Newton, MA 02465, www.2ndchurch.org, or to Elliot House Clubhouse/Riverside Community Care, www.riversidecc.org/donations/.

There will be a memorial service for David at Second Church when we can gather safely again.

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