Donald Berns

Don Berns was such an extraordinary person.  He passed away peacefully at his home on a beautiful November morning, his family by his side. He had faced a rare, stealthy, and very aggressive diffuse gastric cancer with his typical humility, courage, grit, and realistic optimism. His faith and gratitude were always with him.

Donald Dale Berns was born in 1957 on a subzero January night during a raging blizzard. His parents, Marvin and Shirley Berns of Lohrville, Iowa, had to pick up the doctor so they could all get to the hospital in spite of the storm. Thus began Don’s lifelong love of frigidly cold weather and his well known attitude that life can be hard but it is also a very grand adventure!

Don loved growing up on the farm and living in a rural community. His family, church, and community instilled many treasured values in him including faith, responsibility, ingenuity, perseverance, humor, and integrity. These all served him well for his entire life.

Don romanced his high school sweetheart, Pam, taking her to drive-in movies, concerts, county fairs, and dinners at the newest restaurant, Pizza Hut. After three years of having so much fun together, Don proposed. He married his soulmate, Pamela Johnson, in the summer of 1977.

Following college they called Colorado home for forty three happy years. They recently moved to Maryland to be close to their daughter Chelsea, son-in-law Steven, and grandson Oliver. Don loved parenting and grandparenting and could always be counted on to be full of fun. He made every occasion a great occasion!

Don truly embraced frigidly cold weather and enjoyed spending his vacations in far-flung polar regions. One of his favorite trips was celebrating Christmas and New Years in Iceland with Pam, Steven, Chelsea and Oliver (who was a sweet little bun in the oven at the time). So much fun was had traversing glaciers, wrapping up in blankets to watch the northern lights in awe, and listening to all the church bells ringing in unison on Christmas Eve. The sight of the entire island exploding with fireworks on New Years Eve was beyond amazing. This was Don’s kind of expedition!

He was an intrepid explorer and traveled extensively all around the globe, visiting all 50 US states and over 63 countries internationally. He was always delighted whether he was researching mountain gorillas in Africa, staying with remote tribes along the Amazon, or putting on his gladrags for the opera at La Scala. He always had his heart open for opportunities to share in the spiritual traditions of the people he met in his travels. Don loved the arts, trekking, fly-fishing, rafting, kayaking, birdwatching, snowshoeing, immersing in local cultures, embracing nature and finding himself off the beaten path.

He was filled with gratitude for the everyday, simple pleasures of his life. Don savored each moment—a sweet slice of his mom’s peach pie, a soft cool breeze on his cheeks, a crackling fire in wintertime, singing (enthusiastically!) in the shower, every second shared with Oliver. He thoroughly enjoyed Christmastime, ice cream, chopping wood, cooking on his grill, and playing his accordion. He lived his life wholeheartedly and with no regrets!

Don was so deeply caring, kind, forgiving and generous. How blessed we are to have had someone in our lives who makes saying “Goodbye for now” so hard. He will be missed more than words can say.

In continuing the legacy of Don’s generous spirit, we would be honored if you would consider a contribution to the Gastric Cancer Foundation. Research into gastric cancers positively impacts all cancer research. Please share this link and encourage those you know to contribute because it is so important for future generations.  

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

--Dr. Seuss

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