Irene (Walton) Berg

Irene (Walton) Berg, 88, of South Lyme and formerly of West Hartford, died Thursday, October 18, 2012 at Middlesex Hospital. She was the widow of Lennart Martin Berg. Born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, a daughter of the late Samuel and Alla Louise (Rumney) Walton, Irene graduated from Lebanon High School. She went on to graduate from Becker College in Worcester, MA where she studied bookkeeping and met her husband Lenny, who attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They married in 1948 and settled in West Hartford, where they raised four children. Over the years, Irene worked as a bookkeeper at her church, First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford and Bridle Path Elementary School. She was active volunteering with First Church, Meals-on-Wheels and with the Nearly New shop as well as a member of the Old Lyme Grange and Point O' Wood Women's Club. Irene had a great love for the outdoors. She was the captain of her high school ski team, skied Tuckerman's Ravine at Mount Washington on her honeymoon in 1948 and fondly remembers canoeing at Mascoma Lake. She summered at and eventually retired to the family cottage at Point O' Woods in South Lyme. Her artistic sense, inherited from her mother Louise, was expressed in many creative ways. A simple walk on the beach would frequently yield a work of art, crafted from found objects, driftwood, and shells collected that day. She had a way of observing beauty that each day offered, and seeing the extraordinary where ordinary used to be. Irene was a naturally inquisitive, helpful and outgoing person, making friends with all who crossed her path. Genuinely interested in everyone she met, it would not take her long to learn the life story of a new acquaintance and find something to like about them. Irene leaves three children, Paul Lennart Berg, John Martin Berg, and Pamela Berg McNary; and her two grandchildren, Elliot and Audrey Berg. She was predeceased by her son, Alan Walton Berg. A Memorial Service will be held at 12:00 on Friday, Oct. 26 at South Lyme Union Chapel, with the Reverend Cynthia Wilhour officiating. Burial will be private at Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the South Lyme Union Chapel, P.O. Box 227 South Lyme, CT 06376. For directions and online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.

Irene (Walton) Berg

October 18, 1924 - October 18, 2012