Ivan Leroy Berry

Ivan Leroy Berry, age 77, passed away Monday, Dec. 29, 2014, in Fayetteville, Ark. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Janice (Downing) Berry; his daughter Elaine and her husband, William Jaeger of Clay Center, Neb.; his son Brian Berry of Lincoln, Neb.; his daughter Brenda and her husband, James Krajewski of Tullahoma, Tenn.; grandchildren, Nicholas Krajewski and his wife, Emily, Erica Krajewski, Robert Jaeger and his wife, Jaime; and great-granddaughter Leah Jaeger. He is also survived by his sister, Karen and husband, James Hargrave; sister-in-law, Joyce Boswell; brother-in-law, Leon Downing; and his wife, Nancy; and many loving cousins, nieces, and nephews. Born and raised near Mt. Vernon, Mo., Ivan was the son of Morris and Naomi (O'Neal) Berry. He attended Pleasant View No. 35 and graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1955. Ivan gave much credit for his academic success to his early education by Mrs. Ross, his school teacher at Pleasant View country school. He attended the University of Missouri, where he was a member of Farmhouse Fraternity, and received both bachelors and masters degrees in Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering. He later earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University. He spent much of his working career with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, living with his family in Columbia, Missouri; Kerrville, Texas; Bryan, Texas, and Lincoln, Nebraska. He came to work for the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1985 as a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, and retired in 1999. Ivan enjoyed golfing, traveling and camping. Even in his retirement years, he stayed current in his profession and enjoyed periodic consulting jobs. He kept in touch with many friends, family members and former colleagues by email. He especially liked to watch college football and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball. He was also an avid genealogist and enjoyed discovering and corresponding with distant cousins. A funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, at the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Burial will follow at the Summit Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. prior to the service in the funeral home chapel. Memorial donations may be made to the Willard Walker Hospice Home in care of the funeral home or P.O. Box 356, Fayetteville, AR, 72702. Online condolences may be shared at www.FossettMosherFuneralHome.com.