Howard Berg, Jr.

Howard Berg, Jr., 85, of Waynesville, passed away Monday, February 23, 2009. He was born in Miami, Florida, September 20, 1923, to Lucille Marguerite (Peck) and Royal Howard Berg, Sr., and was a Floridian for 50 years. In his later years he lived in Western North Carolina and was a strong advocate for the Carolinian mountain lifestyle. As a high school student (class of 1941), he was an award-winning photographer for the Melbourne (Florida) high school newspaper. He was a pioneer in weather forecasting in Melbourne, serving the national weather service as a teenager by recording official weather records. He rode the overseas railroad to Key West one week before the great 1935 hurricane destroyed the city. He attended the University of Florida and High Point College in North Carolina and joined the Navy while in school at High Point. While in the Navy, Howard attended Newberry College in South Carolina and earned his Naval commission at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He played football at High Point College and Newberry College. During the war Howard served on the minesweeper USS Improve throughout the Pacific and the East China Sea. Taking after his father, his professional career began in the newspaper business. He served as director of the Florida Press Association and was publisher of the New Smyrna Beach News and the Delray Beach News, and owner/publisher of the Zephyrhills News. He also was ad director of the Melbourne Daily Times and worked in the Palm Beach Post-Times advertising department. Berg was a professional photographer, in the fifties owning the largest camera store and studio in Brevard County, Florida. He was a real estate broker in Florida and North Carolina, taking residence in Maggie Valley, North Carolina in 1970. He established and owned one of the most influential real estate offices in Haywood County in the 70's, Village Realty. He lived in Western North Carolina the rest of his life. He married Cecilia Berg and with her owned and operated the Cardinal Inn Motel in Maggie Valley. After retiring in 2004, he lived in Waynesville, North Carolina. Howard Berg was preceded in death by his parents, and his brother Robert Berg. He is survived by his wife, Cecilia; sister, Diana Sheffield of Melbourne, Florida; brother, Bradford Berg (Nell), of Palm Desert, California; three daughters, Christy Birdsall (Jim), Beverly Harris (Bill), and Bonnie Berg all of Melbourne, Florida; son Royal Howard Berg, III, Ph.D. (Michelle) of St. Louis, Missouri; two stepdaughters, Denise Blase of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Diane Franklin (Robby) of Waynesville, North Carolina; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A memorial mass will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009 at St. Margaret's Catholic Church. The family will receive friends 30 minutes prior to the service at the church.

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