Ginny Berry, who died April 30 at age 87, spent much of her life counseling children from troubled homes and was instrumental in launching the first alternative high school in Cherry Creek School District.
A celebration of her life will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Churchill Downs School, another institution she helped establish, at 8400 E. Yale Ave.
“She used to say that when she died, she wanted everyone to get together and sing songs, play instruments and have a big ol’ bash of a party,” said her son, Chuck Berry, explaining the gap between her death and memorial service.
Born and raised in Denver, with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Denver, Virginia Berry initially intended to be a teacher.
One year of teaching English in a La Junta school gave her second thoughts. After a few years of teaching physical education, she noticed that many students lingered before and after class to seek her guidance about private matters.
In 1960, she became a counselor with Cherry Creek School District. She kept that position for 25 years, watching the district burgeon from a rural area dotted with one- and two-room schoolhouses to a suburb where high schools draw thousands of students.
Throughout her career, Berry’s office was a magnet for struggling students with turbulent home lives and sometimes what she termed “trouble with the law.”
She disliked the term “at-risk,” preferring to say that she worked with students “who were not Harvard- bound.” Many were abuse victims in an era when officials often turned a blind eye to domestic violence.
“Before I met her, I never had anyone who took me on and said, ‘You’re marvelous, an amazing person. Show me what you can do,”‘ said Donna Peterson, who turned to Berry in 1969 as a senior at Cherry Creek High School.
“She showed me that you could do anything you wanted to, regardless of your surroundings or your past.”
Peterson’s relationship with Berry blossomed from student supplicant to virtually familial. Peterson lived with Berry during her senior year in high school. The two remained so close that Peterson’s two children called Berry “Grandma.”
As Berry’s health grew frail, Peterson became one of Berry’s primary caretakers.
Berry helped launch an alternative high school, along with a Glendale family resource center for immigrants and low-income residents. The Cherry Creek High School counseling center was named after her, and the district’s foundation established a merit award in her name.
Until recently, she remained in her longtime home. She continued to do volunteer work, oxygen tank in tow, until emphysema forced her to stop a few months ago.
She is survived by her son, Chuck Berry of State College, Pa. Her brief marriage ended in divorce.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
