It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Sybil Nora Berry. After about two years of battling with metastatic breast cancer, she let go on April 4, 2025 with the love of her life and father to her kids, daughter, and son at her side in her final moments. She was 50 years old.

Sybil was born in Platteville, Wisconsin on October 11, 1974 to Erik and Cordelia Lokensgard. The fourth of what would be five children, Sybil was very bright – both in her intelligence and simply the radiance with which she walked through the world. She attended Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she was known to get into good trouble with her sister/auntie/niece (best friend), Nyima Funk. They were a comedy duo for the ages who would find any reason to get up and dance. This humor and love of dancing could never be shaken from Sybil in any stage of her life. Music also permeated her life. Coming from an extremely musical family, Sybil learned to play the piano in childhood and was born into this world with the gift of a beautiful singing voice. It is primarily through music that Sybil then met and fell in love with Jason Berry, who she would then spend the rest of her life with. After living in Staten Island with Jason for quite some time, Sybil felt moved to return to Ann Arbor for her great aunt Nora and cared for her in her final stretch of life until her passing at the age of 105. It would only be a few months after her passing that Sybil would have her daughter, who she named for her great aunt, and devoted herself to motherhood. Her son Corbin arrived in 2008, and she relished life with her young children. She was a natural, gentle, creative, and entirely supportive mother. This much is obvious to anyone who knew her.

Sybil was a passionate and practical caretaker in so many moments throughout her life. To name only a few, she adopted the one black cat who was keeping to the corner of the room because she knew his color and his anxiety would radically lessen his chances of being chosen. He lived to be 18 years old and naturally passed away in the comfort of his own home. When Sybil saw the abuse that her great aunt was suffering through in an elder care facility, she immediately made arrangements to come home and take care of her herself. Nora Elstad passed away in the comfort of Sybil's home in her sleep at 105 years old. When a member of her chosen family began experiencing health complications, Sybil was a primary person on her care team who provided transportation, emotional support, and bore witness to her hospital visits up until Jennifer Chanel's passing in November of 2020. When her son was in need of support for his break dancing, she found him teachers, networked with dancers, drove him all around Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and created events out of thin air to support him and in turn, the breaking community at large. In the last few years of her life, Sybil's innate ability to nurture and protect was put to good use in her work as a community builder with Intentional Communities of Washtenaw–a group devoted to improving the quality of life for adults with disabilities. In her time with ICW, she facilitated social and recreational activities for the residents and provided direct support and companionship. Sybil was imaginative, resourceful, brilliant, and was a treasured friend and community member to those fortunate enough to know her. May she be remembered for her gentle spirit, her strength, and the happiness she derived from being the mother of Nora and Corbin–her life's greatest joys. May she continue to inspire us all.

Sybil was preceded in death by her brother, Eugene "Scott" Thompson, and a member of her chosen family, Jennifer Holiday Chanel. She is survived by her daughter, Nora; her son, Corbin; and their father, Jason Berry; as well as her parents, Cordelia and Erik Lokensgard; her sisters, Wendy Thompson, Gina Thompson, and Alexa Lokensgard; her brother-in-law, Chris Taylor; and her nieces and nephew, Liliana, Elliott, and Clara.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 12th at 10:00 am at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 201 N. River Street, Ypsilanti. An interment at Highland Cemetery in Ypsilanti will follow immediately afterward. Please return to the church after the interment of cremated remains for lunch and remembrances. If you cannot make it to the service in person, it will be livestreamed from Emmanuel Lutheran's Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpmhxmXPhLEM2zbMLLWeIQ).

If you have any photos or videos of Sybil, please send them to [email protected].

If you wish to show your love and support for Sybil, please support her children by donating to the GoFundMe: Honoring Sybil - by Supporting Her Kids (https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-sybil-by-supporting-her-kids), and go dance your heart out at this year's Prince Dance Party (https://blindpigmusic.com/tm-event/prince-dance-party/) at the Blind Pig.