David Kenneth Berke M.D.

1943 - 2021

David Kenneth Berke, MD
October 23, 1943 - December 27, 2021
Resident of Castro Valley, CA
Love of Learning, Healing, Adventure and Family were the cornerstones of the life of David Kenneth Berke, MD. Born in Camp Forrest, Tennessee, at an Army camp during WWII, his family moved to Fresh Meadows in Queens and later to Long Island. David graduated from Columbia University in 1965 and Columbia Medical School in 1969, followed by internal medicine residencies at Columbia and UCSF and a Cardiology Fellowship at Stanford University. David opened his private practice in Fremont, CA, and developed the cardiac program (catheterization lab, cardiac rehab, and heart surgery) at Washington Hospital. After thirty years, David closed his practice and went to work for Palo Alto Medical Foundation. David completed his medical career in Castro Valley, working from 2015 to December of 2021.
David loved patient care and felt it was a privilege to work every day. His business card quoted Hippocrates: "Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always." Hearing of David's retirement, one patient said, "It's hard to come by a damn good doctor. Dr. Berke set the bar high—as an individual and a practitioner. His shoes will be hard to fill." Many of his patients became lifelong friends.
Always the explorer, and happiest when pushing limits, David's adventures started at 13 when he and a friend took a train by themselves to Washington D.C. over spring break. With a twinkle in his eye, he chuckled remembering buying tickets to see the risqué Redd Foxx and told tales of teaching driving in the Catskills and working at the 1964 World's Fair as a chauffeur. In the summer of 1963, he was awarded a Ford Fellowship to study a small rural village in Brazil. He spent the summer without running water or electricity and traveled to Machu Picchu in an unpressurized DC3, landing on a grass airfield. He discovered the joy of backpacking in the Sierras in his forties and began mountain climbing. He visited all seven continents, summitted Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Russia, Aconcagua in Argentina, Denali in Alaska, and climbed the Himalayas. When asked for advice on climbing, he wryly offered "Always come back!"
The other joy in David's life was his family. He married Iris Polk in 1968 and Terry Liebowitz in 2015. He is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Vickery, son-in-law Jason, granddaughters Zoe and Ally, and daughter Annie Berke, as well as his best friend and sweetheart Terry and her children David, Matthew, and Sarah Ames and their spouses and children. David's last years were filled with travel, theater, music, museums, delicious meals, walking Teddy, tennis and the weekend hike with his buddies, topped off with a beer and doughnuts. In his inimitable style, he described his life as, "A good run, and the last seven years were the home run!"
To celebrate David's life, please donate in his name to the Regional Parks Foundation (Sunol Interpretive Program,), Alameda Food Bank or Castro Valley Arts Foundation. A memorial will be planned when the wildflowers return in the spring.


View the online memorial for David Kenneth Berke, MD