Carol Joyce Berry

Carol Berry died at home Saturday August 8, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was 83 years old. Her life was shaped – but never defined – by the disease that attacked her when she was just a year old. Polio forced her in and out of hospitals for most of her first 10 years and eventually pushed her into wheelchairs and scooters for the last 20. As a girl, she spent months at a time away from the family she loved which she wrote about years later in her journal. “I remember crying during physical therapy because it hurt, and they put me in a dark room until I stopped. I remember Mom and Dad coming to visit and begging to go home with them, which I couldn’t do because I wasn’t ready. I cried, and so did they. “It taught me to be strong. To be independent. To be able to withstand a lot of pain and know it would eventually go away. It taught me to be grateful. It showed me how deep a parent’s love has to be in order to do what is best for their child even though it breaks their heart.” She conceded nothing to polio or, later in life, to cancer. Her mantra, passed down from her mother, was “‘Can’t’ never did anything,” and she believed it to her core. She lived her life with joy, on her terms, and ended it the same way. Although she had every reason to feel life had wronged her, she believed the opposite. In her final days, surrounded by family and basking in their good fortune, she beamed, “My cup runneth over!” Carol was the youngest and last of 12 children of Richard and Daisy, and they all treated her with a deference reserved for the baby of the family. She had many wonderful memories of her brothers and sisters, and some only another sibling can appreciate. Take this journal entry about poor Julius: “He was in the Navy and had a tattoo on his forearm of a woman with long hair and the name ‘Delphia’ under it. His wife’s name was Pauline, but he was stuck with ‘Delphia’ until he died.” Carol eventually left the holler and moved to Columbus, where she lived with her sister, Lilly, and then her niece, Dixie, and friend, Betsy. It was through Dixie that she met the love of her life, Ted. The two were married on Nov. 7, 1964, loved each other the rest of their days, and now are reunited. Carol was among the precious few who can say she lived out her childhood dream. Even as a girl, what she wanted more than anything was to be a wife and mother. She threw herself into both jobs and eventually earned a promotion to grandmother – a role she savored. She was the cherished Aunt Carol to dozens of nieces and nephews, and countless others who simply loved her and considered her family. Carol was born July 24, 1943, in Phelps, Kentucky, to the late Richard and Daisy Smith. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ted; brothers, Ernest, Julius, Ervil, Ray, Alvis, Paul and Bobby; and sisters, Margaret, Gladys, Lilly and Ruby. She lost her dear sister Ruby just 10 days earlier. She is survived by her sons, Mark (Kathy) and Kevin (Heather); grandson, Max; granddaughters, Madeline (Ryan), Dana (Caleb), Grace and Samantha (Evan); and great-grandson, Phineas. The family will welcome all who wish to pay their respects from 1-4 p.m., Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at Highwater United Church of Christ, 1213 Dutch Lane NW, Newark, Ohio 43055. A brief, family-led graveside service will follow at Liberty Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Carol’s honor to St. Judes Children’s Hospital.

Carol Joyce Berry

July 24, 1943 - August 8, 2026