E. Bertram “Bert” Berkley, born in Kansas City on May 8, 1923, passed away in his native city on July 16, 2024, at the age of 101.
He lived a remarkably full life, had an unwavering devotion to his family, was exemplary in his ability to make friends from a wide diversity of backgrounds and showed tireless energy “giving back” to the community. He also had one of the best fly-fishing casts of anyone from Montana to the Florida Keys.
The son of E.B. and Caroline “Kitty” Berkowitz, Bert was the third-generation leader of Tension Corporation, the 138-year-old family company founded by his grandfather William Berkowitz in 1886. Bert often said that working at Tension was the only job he ever wanted. As Tension’s president and CEO, then board chairman and then chairman emeritus, Berkley took great pride in the growth of the enterprise, which now includes operating units reaching from headquarters in Kansas City to plants across the United States and international locations in Taiwan and China. His associates at Tension have a deep affection for Bert, as he had for them. One associate with more than 50 years at the company remembered meeting Bert for the first time on the plant floor, during one of Bert’s regular trips, when he introduced himself by simply saying, “Bert Berkley, Kansas City.”
Bert served his industry as chair of the Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) and received the organization’s Chairman’s Award. He was also the chair and a founder of the Global Envelope Alliance, as well as a member of the Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum Advisory Council. He was awarded six patents.
Bert attended Bryant Elementary School, Pembroke Country Day School and Duke University, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University.
He served his country in both World War II (42 months) and Korea (17 months), rising to the rank of First Lieutenant, Infantry. For his valor on the front lines, he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Combat Infantry Badge. Throughout his life, Bert remained a profoundly patriotic and engaged citizen. After nearly five years of service and front-line combat, he promised himself that if he got out alive, he would spend his life giving back, which became the name of the book he co-authored.
In 1948, Bert married the love of his life, Joan Meinrath Berkley. Bert and Joan’s marriage flourished for 64 years until she passed away in 2012. For the rest of his life, Bert’s devotion to Joan’s memory was ever present. Joan and Bert were life partners on countless initiatives and adventures, none of which was as important to them as raising and loving their three children: Janet, Bill and Jane. They adored their seven grandchildren, Matt, Caroline, Kate, Matthew, Will, Daniel and Laura. Bert was similarly enraptured with his new great-granddaughter, Eloise, who arrived in 2022. Family was everything to Bert.
Bert was widely known for his dedication to his wider family and friends from far and near. He was exceptionally generous with his time, his insight and his affection for nieces, nephews, in-laws, relatives of in-laws, friends across multiple generations, co-workers, community members and new acquaintances. He was celebrated for remembering important milestones in the lives of the people he cared about, calling someone nearly every day to wish them a “happy, healthy, healthy birthday” and listening patiently to the many details of their lives.
His own birthday parties were legendary. In 2023, hundreds of family members and friends came out to Arrowhead Stadium to celebrate his 100th birthday. At that event, Bert stood for 20 minutes, without a note, to eloquently thank them all for their friendship over the years.
Bert loved Kansas City. In his civic life, Bert poured his energy into making his community, country and the world a better place. Among his myriad achievements and recognitions, Bert conceived of and founded Kansas City’s Local Investment and Commission (LINC), a public-private partnership providing oversight for all social services in Kansas City. This innovative leadership led to Bert receiving the National Governors’ Association's Distinguished Service to State Government Award.
He was a founder and past chairman of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City. Bert was chairman and named “Mr. Kansas City” by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; he was also chairman of Heart of America United Way and received the Adele Hall Spirit of Community Caring Award for his outstanding effort.
In the field of education, Bert served as chairman of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Board of Trustees and received UMKC’s Chancellor’s Medal for service to the community and the university. He was awarded the Hugh J. Zimmer Award for Excellence in Urban Education by the UMKC School of Education. He was a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was a member of the Board of the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C. He was a board member of Turn The Page KC and was passionate about the critical importance of all children reading at grade level by third grade. He was a great advocate for the use of phonics to teach reading.
An ardent supporter of community and business development efforts, Bert was a member of the board of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership; was chairman of the Center for Business Innovation, a not-for profit business incubator in Kansas City; and was, with his family, inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.
Bert also wholeheartedly devoted himself to establishing better relationships between all people. He served on both the Kansas City and national board of the Minority Supplier Development Council. He received the Legacy Award from the Mid-America Minority Business Development Council because of his leadership. He also led the KC Minority Business Capital Corporation. Bert received the KC Globe Lifetime Honorees – Society of Influentials Award and the Harold L. Holliday, Sr. Civil Rights Award from the local chapter of the NAACP.
A member of the New Reform Temple, Bert served for decades on the Jewish Community Relations Bureau | American Jewish Committee (JCRB|AJC) in Kansas City. JCRB|AJC honored Bert’s service by creating a “Bert Berkley Chair for Community Relations” and by naming Bert the recipient of the Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award. He was widely respected for his courage in standing up for the dignity and rights of people from every walk of life. For his diplomatic and tenacious work in this regard, the Mainstream Coalition awarded Bert the Robert H. Meneilly “Stand Up – Speak Out Award.” Bert is listed in several “Who’s Who.”
Beyond his exceptional work and civic endeavors, Bert was a fly-fishing fanatic and loved to spend time with his family in the great outdoors. His personal resume concluded with the statement “Bert is available to go fly fishing at a moment’s notice.” If it was salmon fishing along the Miramichi River in Canada, trout fishing in western Montana, or bone fishing in the Caribbean, Bert was the first one out every morning and the last one to come home for dinner in the evening. He was at the center of a circle of family and friends he dubbed the Masters of Fly Fishing. He was effusive and endearing to this cohort, to which he presented individualized and ever-more creative plaques each year.
Whether it was running the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon with the whole family, trekking in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge with Joan or kayaking with his grandchildren on a Maine lake to see the loons, Bert loved adventure and discovery. It was always fresh and exciting to him. Videotaping a lion from a safari Land Rover or heading out on a five-day llama tour, Bert was always ready, willing and indefatigable.
Bert is remembered with deep love and gratitude by daughter Janet Dubrava and her husband Dan; son Bill Berkley and his wife Maureen; and daughter Jane Levitt and her husband Jim; as well as by his grandchildren and their spouses, Caroline and John Inderman; Kate Berkley; Matthew Berkley; Will Levitt and Sam Pape; Dan Levitt and Sarah Consagra; and Laura Levitt; in addition to his great-granddaughter, Eloise Inderman. Bert is also survived by his devoted sister, Carol Berkley Hillman; as well as by nieces, nephews, cousins and extended Berkley family members and countless friends.
A private family burial was held on July 18, 2024 at Rose Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. There will be a larger celebration of Bert's life at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, at Unity Temple on the Plaza (707 W. 47th St., Kansas City, MO 64112).
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Local Investment Commission (LINC) at kclinc.org/donate; the Fund for the Bert Berkley Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Literacy at UMKC at tinyurl.com/y6je8dme; and JCRB|AJC at jcrbajc.org/donate.html.
