Helen Virginia Berry

Helen Virginia Johnson Berry, nicknamed 'Ginger', age 88, passed away peacefully on September 28, 2025, with her daughter, Sinda Duke Roberts and her son-in-law, Michael Roberts, holding her hands until she took her last breath. A life full of joy, happiness, in faith, and mostly love that she gave with all of her heart to all the ones she loved.

She was born on February 24, 1937 to Hilda and Clarence Johnson. She had 1 brother, Gilbert Johnson (wife Leona, children Mike, Steve, Russell, and Kevin) and 3 sisters, Lorene Johnson (husband Dick, children Trudy and Terry); Ethelyne Pickel (husband James, children Jan and Bruce); Maydell Griffith (husband Grady, children Dana, Kim, and Dean). She was the baby of the family and the only child born in a hospital, Seton on 38th Street in Austin, Texas. She was born in an era of tap dancing movie stars and one of her dreams was to be like Ginger Rogers. She also loved cats and she said when she grew up, she was going to have a castle of cats. She never attained that dream of being a dancer but she always had cats wherever she lived.

She married her high school beau, James William Duke, and had 2 children, son Dace William Duke and daughter Sinda Suzanne Duke Roberts. James was a self-taught artist painting Texas Bluebonnets and surrounding Texas Hill Country landscapes under the name Jim Dooley. He died in 1973 at the age of 38 in a truck accident.

In 1977 on the 4th of July, she met Richard Berry on Lake Travis when he pulled his boat alongside the boat she was on. Soon after they were married on Lake Travis at her brother's lake house. Ginger was beautiful and barefoot! Richard also had 2 children, Rich and Gina. They moved to Houston and her daughter soon followed where Sinda met her first husband, Monty Burger. Ginger and Sinda opened their own antique shop, Whisker's Pocket, on Chimney Rock off Westheimer Road in Houston. Both remained in Houston for eight years until both divorced. Ginger moved back to her hometown Austin and Sinda soon followed. Ginger went to work for the State of Texas' Workers Compensation Office and retired in 2000.

She met metal works artist Rick Bishop while living at her beautiful Lake Travis cliff top home. She remained in a relationship with him until his passing.

She also had a longstanding relationship with Roy Reeves.

Ginger had such a knack for decorating each home so beautiful that her family's nickname for her was 'Martha Stewart'. She also had a very green thumb. She loved all the seasons but Spring was her favorite. She shared that love with Sinda and every Spring they would make a special trip to Lowe's to buy bulbs, ferns, plants and flowers. Every where she lived she had beautiful yards front and back filled with gorgeous plants and flowers. She also had wildlife which she loved and was delighted every time she saw them: birds, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and armadillos. She fed and watched them and when they didn't come around she worried about them until they returned. She also had a neighbor cat "Raaandy", black and longhaired that came to visit her and Jeremiah (her cat) every day to play and have some "num nums" and then it was time to leave. Her house just seemed to be a magnet for cats as if they knew the woman who lived there was "a cat person". Stray cats just seemed to gravitate to her back yard and one day after a big thunderstorm, she called Sinda so excited that a cat had left 2 "little bundles of joy" as she called them, kittens, one black and one white. She said she scooped them up so fast and ran with them into her house as though God had gifted her with them. She named the black kitten Boo and the white kitten Scout from one of her favorite movies "To Kill a Mockingbird" Another favorite movie was "Out of Africa" with Robert Redford. She and Sinda always felt that Ginger and he were meant to be together as did 2 of her nieces, Jan and Kim. One of her favorite singers was Michael Buble'. She was always a soul stuck in the times of her childhood and teenage years.....she was the heart of those times; beautiful, good, kind, wholesome simple times and the simple things of life.

She loved sewing, rag rugs, and doing many projects by herself or with Sinda and Lacee which included redecorating her homes several times cause she loved it so much. She also loved decorating for the holidays, each one so special with beautiful adornments accompanied with excellent home cooking. She made a killer pot roast and she baked her favorite pies, apple and pecan. Her cooking and sewing talents were passed down from her German mother Hilda Johnson. Ginger passed both down to her daughter, Sinda, who passed both down to her daughter, Lacee Halayne Duke. All 3 had referred to themselves as the "Three Musketeers".

Ginger was a fantastic sewist! She could make clothes, beautiful Ralph Lauren (her favorite material) ruffled pillows, bed covers and quilts and she could even sew to cover chairs and couches. She could do anything she put her mind to and that trait was also passed down to Sinda and Lacee.

She initially balked when Sinda introduced her to thrifting. She soon began to enjoy it so much she would go by herself but most of the time with Sinda and sometimes Lacee would tag along. They would make a day of it, multiple stores with a lunch included. Sometimes her niece Jan Finleon and Jan's granddaughter Case would join the group. It became addicting but lots of fun.

Another joy in her life was her granddaughter Lacee's and Janson Bass's son Ever Devlin Bass, her one great grandchild who she just adored. He called her GiGi and she had a full toy box for him when he would come to visit.

Ginger was one of the sweetest souls and as much as she loved her siblings, she also loved deeply each nephew and niece and their children. She was especially close with her sweet sister May and her loving sister Ethelyne and their daughters Kim Ford and Jan Finleon. They all had a special bond and spent time together visiting, laughing, shopping, and afternoon coffee and sweets. Her closest sister May remained so endearing to her and her wonderful childhood memories. May sent so many beautiful, loving and encouraging cards to her little sister and it meant the world to her and she cherished each and every one, keeping them in a special box.

One thing Ginger looked forward to every year was the annual Ladies Luncheon which started in 1975 and she attended every year never missing one. The luncheon was a Christmas event and each of the ladies took turns hosting the luncheon, decorating their home and there was food, gift exchange, games and lots and lots of laughter to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.

When Ginger moved back to Austin she lived in her cliff top Lake Travis home. She moved closer to town eventually settling in her beautiful little home where she remained with her cats for almost 40 years. During those years she was blessed with her longtime neighbors and good friends, Deborah and Harold Gilliam, who lived next door to her. They cared for her, watched over her and came to love her dearly. Her daughter, Sinda, and son-in-law Michael moved just around the corner from her and their lives were closely intertwined for almost 30 years. Ginger and Sinda were inseparable. After Sinda retired from UT Austin, Ginger and Sinda, along with Michael, once again became antique dealers for almost 20 years beginning at the Antique Marketplace then moving to the Austin Antique Mall.

Ginger is survived by her son Dace and his wife Gina, daughter Sinda and her husband Michael, granddaughter Lacee Halayne Duke and her partner Janson Bass, and great grandson Ever Devlin Bass, sister Maydell Griffith, nieces Dana Collins, Kim Ford, and Jan Finleon, nephews Mike Johnson, Steve Johnson, Russell Johnson, Kevin Johnson, and Bruce Pickel, plus numerous grandnephews, grandnieces, great grandnephews and great grandnieces.

She is also survived by her very special companion, Jeremiah, her cat she adopted from the Austin Humane Society. They talked to each other everyday. She understood his every meow and he understood her words to him. They had a very close bond and he misses his Mommy.

She was preceded in death by her parents Clarence and Hilda Johnson, her brother Gilbert (Leona) Johnson, her sisters Lorene (Dick) Johnson, and Ethelyne (James) Pickel, nephews Terry Johnson and Dean Griffith, and niece Trudy.

Ginger was one of the sweetest, most loving souls on this earth. She was happy and content just being surrounded by family. Her family teased her that she wanted her world to always be "butterflies and sunshine''. He little lilting voice and happy face and smile when she saw you will be terribly missed along with her constant happiness for life. Two of her many attributes were those beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair. The grace of a true Lady and the dignity and grace with which she carried herself....through which she lived.... We pray that she is with Papa and Mema, her siblings and relatives and they are all enjoying "Butterflies.....and Sunshine"