Rochester, NY: After 75 years of life that were filled with great love, great joy and great compassion, Elizabeth “Beth” Berl passed away peacefully on May 27, 2020.
Her presence will be greatly missed by her husband Tom who was fortunate to share more than 50 years of great love with and for her.
With the awesome privilege of calling her mom, her sons Tom, Michael, Patrick and Timothy were great joys of her life. Adding to that joy were her grandchildren Haley, Caroline, Israel, Judah, Michaela, Ianna, Maddie and Lucy. As her boys married, she welcomed Jessica (Tim), Melanie (Patrick), Karen (Mike), and Johnna (Tom) with open heart and joyful spirit.
But that’s just a part of her story.
Born in 1945 to Al and Lucille Merzke, she and her brother Al grew up in Webster NY. She attended Holy Trinity School and along with her lifelong friend, Kathy Lorenzo, she graduated from Our Lady of Mercy High School.
In 1964, at the Webster Fireman’s beer tent, Beth met her future when she met Tom Berl. Initially captured by her joyful smile and obvious zest for life, Tom and Beth solidified their great love for one another at their 1966 wedding. Having graduated from St. Joseph’s Nursing School in Elmira some years earlier, she embarked on a career that included teaching at Highland Hospital’s Psychiatric Department and nursing on the Psychiatric Ward of the University of Rochester Medical Center. A life long learner, Beth also graduated from Syracuse University with an MSW in Social Work and spent the rest of her days as a counselor. While some of her spent with Agape Counseling, she truly shined when she established her own successful private practice.
Some might think that her career was a great training ground for raising their four (five if you include Eddie) boys but, in reality, her nursing and social work skills were just a natural result of her innate compassion. Tom likes to tell the story of the time he came home from work to a house that should not have been empty but seemed so – until he ventured upstairs to fine the boys and Beth lounging on her bed talking. Yes, just talking. They talked a lot. She was a great mother and raised good, productive and kind men.
It will be tough to measure how much she will be missed but her perfect combination of love, joy and compassion is living on through her most excellent sons, her kind grandchildren, her loyal friends and her devoted, loving Tom.
In Beth’s memory, donations can be made to SeniorsFirst.com/Kirkhaven.
Beth was a sister to me in every way one could hope to have. I could never say enough about the beautiful soul she embodied and expressed every day. I came to know the Lord while living in her home amid the loving chaos of her family. I was there during a painful time in my life when she and Tom extended not only their home but their patience to me. She blessed this world with her life and is missed greatly.
I have been wondering about Beth for several months now. She was a good friend and confidante to me. She truly loved those around her. My heart is sad to hear about her passing. I loved Beth…a true friend.