Walter Henry Berg, Jr.

Walter H. Berg, Jr. age 91, of Hiawassee, Georgia, died on April 26,2024 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He is survived by his wife Ann (Lewis) Berg, two sons Larry and John Berg, their spouses, Debbie and Barbara, five grandchildren, nine great grand-children, and one great great grandchild. He is predeceased by his parents, Walter H. Berg, Sr. and Clemmie Madelyn (Croft) Berg and his daughter Laura Louise Berg.

Walter graduated from Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida in 1950. He attended Georgia Tech under the co-op plan in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1955. 22 years later in 1977, he entered Stetson Law School, graduating in 1980 with a Juris Doctor degree.

He and Ann were married in 1954. She shared in all that followed.

Walter tried to take advantage of opportunities as they arose. As a result, the Bergs moved around a lot. The first of those was from Atlanta to Sarasota, Florida, to accept a job offer from Florida Power & Light Co. Sarasota was a delightful place to live and he enjoyed the work. Their first child was born there, but before they could settle in, he was transferred to Fort Myers, then it happened again to Punta Gorda.

The Georgia Tech Alumni Placement Service was helpful in getting Walter the job in Tampa. He began as Plant Engineer, and soon became Purchasing Agent, then Plant Manager. It was a shrimp processing plant with about 300 employees. All-together, he spent 17 years in the shrimp business. During those years he was named CEO, moved the plant from Brunswick, Georgia, worked on a merger, and handled a buy-out.

On a personal level during that time, he joined the First Baptist Church of Brandon, serving as a deacon three three-year terms. He and Ann also enjoyed time working with the boys in Little League, Pony & Colt League Baseball, as well as spending time on the water fishing and water skiing.

Walter enjoyed a number of hobbies: genealogy, coin collecting, wood turning, photography, and videography. He and Ann looked forward to traveling with their own Airstream trailer.

In 1973 during a Saturday morning ball practice, Walter suffered a severe heart attack, and was told at the hospital that he had a 50/50 chance of making it. He spent 11 days in the hospital and six weeks at home recuperating. He returned to work, but with a different set of priorities. Faith and family were now in first place.

A year later Walter resigned, but it was too early to call it retirement. He decided to look into law school. It turned out to be his greatest challenge. In 1980 he graduated from Stetson Law School with a Juris Doctor degree, passed the Florida bar, and practiced law for ten years in Brandon before retiring.

During that time, they bought land near Brandon and built a house, a barn and workshop. They bought some cows and called it The Farm. They joined their first Airstream caravan in 1991. It was so enjoyable; they decided to sell The Farm and retire from the law practice.

They made some noteworthy trips _ to Germany in 1984 and to England in 1987.

They bought an unfinished house near Young Harris, GA that gave them a place to stay and park their newly purchased travel trailer when not in use.

They joined McConnell Memorial Baptist Church in Hiawassee. Walter accepted the job of writing the church history. He also served on the finance and cemetery committees for several years. He also joined the Gideons and served as Card Chairman for five years.

Walter always put others before himself, never wanting any recognition or accolades for his services as he preferred to stay out of the spotlight. Walter was a devout Christian, wonderful husband, father, grandfather, friend and helpmate to all who were blessed to know him.

The family would like to thank Regency Southern Care Hospice for their heart felt care during Walter’s illness.

Visitation will be held on Saturday May 4th at 10am at McConell Baptist Church, in Hiawassee, GA. The funeral service will follow at 11am, followed by a grave side service at Osborn Cemetery where he will be interned. The Rev. Steve Taylor and Rev. Danny Byers will be officiating the services. Music will be provided by Wayne Hundley(piano), Elisabeth Lehotski, Lydia Boeckel, Erika Star, Harry Gilbert and Patsy Daniel. The following gentlemen will serve as Pallbearer’s: Larry C. Berg (grandson), John Berg, Jr (grandson), Tim Berg (grandson), Landon Berg (great grandson), Parker Cottrell (great grandson), Conner Cottrell (great grandson), Christopher Berg (great grandson), Quin Berg (great grandson), and Cameron Berg (great grandson).

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Cochran Funeral Home, Hiawassee. In leu of flowers please send any donations to “Regency Southern Care Hospice” or “The Gideons International, Towns County Camp, PO Box 517 Young Harris, GA 30582”.

Walter will be missed by family and friends, but he has been blessed in life in so many ways, he would say, “Don’t cry for me. All is well. I have claimed God’s extraordinary and incredible promise of eternal life for those who believe.”