Agnes Cabell Izac Waller "Happy" Berge

Agnes Cabell Izac Waller Berge died on Friday, April 9, 2010, in Roanoke, Va., at the age of 93. She was the daughter of the only Naval Officer awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor [CMH] in World War One, and a long time figure of prominence on Capital Hill, where she was widely known as "Happy." Happy spent her youth swimming and diving for Abalones near San Diego with Johnny Weismueller, Esther Williams, and Buster Crabbe. She missed out on the United States Olympic swimming team by a fraction of a second.
She was schooled in France along with her brothers, Ed and Charles. Happy returned from France to help her father, Edouard Victor lzac C.M.H., who served six terms as a Congressman from San Diego. After her marriage to Robert Melvin Waller, of Danville, Va., she raised three children.
Though her first calling was the traditional role of wife and mother, when her husband died in 1952, she was forced to return to work on the Hill. She reluctantly became a personification of a large cultural change, from the mother at home to the modern day woman competing with men in the marketplace. Happy thrived on the Hill as the long time Administrative Assistant to Representative Gus Kelley of Pennsylvania. She went on to work for Rep. Biz Johnson of California, Rep. Roy Weir, and Chairman Adam Clayton Powell of New York, writing speeches, legislation, and caring for constituent needs.
She retired when she married Woodrow Louis Berge in 1957. Mr. Berge's daughter, Polly Ann Berge, became a full member of Happy's blended family. Mr. Berge became Director of Real Estate for The Army Corps of Engineers. Following the death of Mr. Berge in 1998, Happy remained in her Arlington, Va., home and Saint Agnes Parish. In 2005 she took residence at Park Oak Grove in Roanoke, Va., to be closer to family and the Catholic community of Our Lady of Nazareth.
She is survived by her sons, Robert M. Waller, of Calvert Beach, Md., and Ron Waller of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., and formerly from Louisville, Ky.; daughter, Mary Carroll Lipps and her husband, David, live in Roanoke, Va.; her stepdaughter, Polly Ann Berge and her husband, Richard Tuggle, reside in Grass Valley, Calif.; her brother, Ed lzac is in Anaheim, Calif.; while her sister, Suzanne Izac Quinlan, and her brother, Father Andre Izac, live in Rodanthe, N.C. Happy had 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
She will be interred 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, at National Memorial Park Cemetery in Falls Church, Va., with a graveside service officiated by Father James Gould. There will be a memorial service 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at Park Oak Grove in Roanoke.
The family appreciates the support and condolences from Happy's many friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Happy's name to Good Samaritan Hospice, Roanoke, Va. Arrangements by Murphy Funeral Service, 1102 W. Broad St. in Falls Church, Va. 22046, 703-533-0341. Local arrangements by Oakey's South Chapel, 540-989-3131.