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"Well done good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Lord." Matthew 25:21

Sammie Howard Berry, Sr. was welcomed into the Joy of the Lord on March 13, 2023.

Sammie Howard Berry, Sr. was born on the Berry place (located south of Pine Island Baptist Church) in the Pine Island Community on April 6, 1928. He was the son of Samuel Harrison Berry and Minnie Myrtle Brumlow. Howard had one sister, Bonnie Ruth Pierceall.

Residing in Pine Island for all of his life, he married Lynna Louise Davis on Nov. 24, 1952. The couple met at Pine Island Baptist Church where Howard was a lifelong member and deacon in good standing for over 69 years. Howard and Lynna were active in the church and held positions of teachers, church clerk and church treasurer for over 40 years. Howard and Lynna had four children: Lynna, Sheryl, Sammie and Susan. Cancer claimed the lives of his wife, Lynna and his son, Sammie, both at a young age.

Bro. Howard worked the farm and ranched. He also made a living carrying the mail on horseback, loading boxcars with watermelons, working at the recliner factory in Bellville and ending his career as a master carpenter and construction inspector for Texas A&M University.

Bro. Howard leaves behind a loving family; daughters Lynna "Tupie" Berry, Sheryl Kelley and husband Ronnie, Susan Styers and husband Odis; grandchildren Ron Kelley and wife Crystal, Shelley Kelley, Samantha Dempsey and husband Rick, O.K. Styers and wife Heather, Sandy Smith and husband Timothy, Christopher Johnson and wife Haley, Marti Garrett and husband Steven, Jessie Benoot and husband Nick, Katie Briscoe and husband Chance; great grandchildren Trey, Andrew and Jacob Kelley, Cole and Hannah Dempsey, Carrigan, Chloe Styers and Lillian Baker, Nate and Sammie Smith, Paisley and Emmaleigh Johnson, Luke Garrett, Jackson Benoot, Maddix Briscoe; niece Minnie Moore; sister-in-law Sharon Davis; cousin Bernice Chaddick; good friends Tommy Kwiatkowski and wife Allison; caregiver and puzzle partner Johnathan Riemer and his wife Teara.

Bro. Howard will be missed by a host of friends and his church family at Pine Island Baptist Church.

The Berry family knows how Blessed they are to have had Paw Paw Berry in their lives and to have witnessed his living example of what a man of God looks like.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge will award to me on that day and not only for me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Visitation will be Sunday, March 19, 2023, from 4-6pm at Canon Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be Monday, March 20, 2023, at 3pm at Pine Island Baptist Church with Pastor Tom Dobbs officiating. Interment will follow at Shiloh Cemetery.