Beloved family man and city leader, Richard L. (Dick) Berkley passed away Wednesday, Nov. 29. He was 92.
Born in Kansas City, Richard L. Berkley was the son of Walter J. and Erni Berkowitz. Dick grew up in southwest Kansas City, graduated from the Pembroke Country Day School, and later from Harvard College and Harvard Graduate Business School. He proudly served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Navy before returning home to join the family business, Tension Corporation. He served Tension for more than 60 years as its treasurer and a member of its board.
Dick’s love for Kansas City knew no bounds. He was a true champion for the city. He served on Kansas City’s City Council for 22 years, beginning in 1969 as a council member, then as mayor pro tem, and was ultimately elected mayor in ’79, ’83 and ’87, retiring in 1991. Dick was Kansas City’s only Jewish mayor as well as the city’s only three-term mayor. He used his wisdom, grace and humor to guide the council to make forward-thinking decisions.
Dick’s many years as the city’s leader enabled him to lay a foundation for a massive wave of improvements for the next 25 years. His leadership over the city’s half-cent sales tax for bonds provided capital improvements for police stations, the zoo expansion, Bartle Hall, the airport, water and sewer extensions, and others totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The bonds collectively fueled over 700 capital projects which began to clear the backlog of deferred maintenance across the city.
As mayor, Dick created task forces and teams to address issues concerning food and hunger, illegal drugs and AIDS. He created the KC Jazz Commission and co-originated the KC Ethics Commission. He supported the arts, education, aviation, economic development and more. He attended meetings of all “official” groups and rarely said “no” to an ask for his input or attendance. As the region’s best ambassador, Dick championed Kansas City locally, nationally and internationally and always did the right thing, with great personal integrity.
During Dick’s many years serving the city, his dedicated and striking wife, Sandy, worked diligently at his side, championing projects such as the Kansas City Zoo, support for AIDS victims and the horse-drawn carriages on the Plaza. For almost 50 years, there was a larger-than-life picture of the couple dressed up and walking in the Plaza’s Easter Parade that greeted travelers at the Kansas City International Airport.
Even after his retirement, Dick Berkley remained high-energy and deeply involved in everything Kansas City-related. Dick had a great sense of humor. He loved people and began carrying a small camera with which he was seen snapping pictures of people all around the city and everywhere he went. He would then send a copy of the photo to each person with a brief note. The Kansas City Star carried an article featuring Dick with many of his photographs, and more were exhibited at the Kansas City Library. In fact, best-selling author Harvey Mackay wrote a chapter in one of his books about Dick’s photographic exploits and how it served to draw people together.
Berkley Riverfront Park is named in his honor and brought him great pride. In recent years, he loved taking family to the park to show its development. Ultimately, his remains will be placed at a memorial site within the park, which gave him great comfort knowing that he would always be a part of his beloved Kansas City.
Dick was proud to be named Kansas Citian of the Year, along with dozens of other meaningful awards and accolades, including serving as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But what he treasured most was the love of his wife, Sandy, their children, grandchildren and his entire family.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Eliot Berkley. He leaves his wife, Sandy; daughter, Elizabeth; son, Jon Berkley and his wife Heather; as well as his grandchildren Ashton, McKenna and Jack.
A memorial service was held on Dec. 7 at the Unity Temple on the Plaza.
Kindly omit flowers. The family requests memorial donations be made to the Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park Memorial Fund, a charitable organization. Donations payable to KC CORE – Berkley Memorial, c/o Port KC, 110 Berkley Plaza, Kansas City, MO 64120.
