Edmund Berkeley Jr.

1937 - 2021

Edmund Berkeley Jr.

April 1, 1937 - December 29, 2020

Edmund "Ned" Berkeley Jr., 83, of Charlottesville, died on December 29, 2020, after a brief illness. He was born in Charlottesville, on April 1, 1937, the eldest child of Edmund and Dorothy Allen (Smith) Berkeley. Due to World War II and his father's career, Ned lived in many places during his childhood. He moved to Tennessee in 1952, graduating from Sewanee Military Academy in 1954, and earning a B.A. in history from The University of the South (Sewanee) in 1958. While at Sewanee, he was a brother of Kappa Sigma fraternity, a member of the swim team and ROTC, and he also spent one memorable summer working as a fire lookout in Oregon.

After spending the summer of 1958 cycling around the UK, he returned to Charlottesville for graduate studies in American history at the University of Virginia. He met his future wife, fellow grad student Elizabeth "Betty" Makaritis, in a class. After receiving his MA in 1961, Ned taught at the Miller School of Albemarle and at Sewanee Military Academy. Ned and Betty married in Charlottesville, on June 9, 1963 and moved to Richmond that July, when Ned took a position as an archivist at the Library of Virginia. Ned and Betty's daughter, Maria, was born the next year. In September 1964, a job at UVA allowed the family to return to Charlottesville, where they have lived ever since. Their son, Edmund, was born there in 1967.

Ned worked in the Special Collections area of Alderman Library until his retirement in 1999. He started as an archivist, moved up to Curator of Manuscripts and associate professor in the general faculty, and ultimately became Director of Special Collections and University Archivist. He was active in the Society of American Archivists and edited the SAA's book 'Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector's Manual' and published articles in professional journals. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as an alumni member in 1985. In retirement, Ned spent much time working on transcribing, annotating, and digitizing the papers of Robert "King" Carter, a prominent colonial Virginian about whom he had written his master's thesis.

Ned was an avid reader, especially of mysteries. He also enjoyed the maritime novels of C.S. Forester and amassed a large collection of first editions. An avid model builder from childhood, he spent hours assembling and painting highly detailed ship models and military miniatures. He and Betty loved to travel and made many trips to Europe. An annual trip to Virginia Beach with Maria's family was a much-anticipated event.

Ned was preceded in death in April by Betty, his beloved wife of nearly 57 years. He is survived by their daughter, Maria B. Lamb, her husband, William B. Lamb, and their daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah; their son, Edmund Berkeley III and his wife, Deborah S. Berkeley; his sister, Judith B. Harrison; and his brother, Norborne Berkeley and his wife, Carrie. The family would also like to thank Nancy Gill, who helped take care of him for the past several years.

A memorial for Ned and Betty will be held when circumstances permit. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Special Collections of the UVA Library.

Donations may be made online at library.virginia.edu/give (Select "other designation" and type "In memory of Edmund Berkeley"). Alternatively, checks payable to "University of Virginia Library" with the memo "In memory of Edmund Berkeley" may be mailed to University of Virginia, Gift Processing, P.O. Box 37963, Boone, IA 50037.

Hill and Wood Funeral Home