James Lamar Berry
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James was born James Lamar Harrell to Bertha (Berry) and Jack Harrell, in Corpus Christi, Texas on May 5, 1942 and died June 7, 2021 at his home in Huntsville, Texas. At a young age, his biological father passed away and his mother would marry the man that would adopt and raise James as his own, Otis Hugh Berry. James grew up in Corpus Christi and graduated from Carroll High School in 1962. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army where he trained to be a helicopter pilot during Vietnam. After he was discharged, he moved to Houston, Texas where he attended the University of Houston to pursue a career in law enforcement. There he met and married his first wife, and the mother of his children, Rebecca Lunsford. They eventually settled in Cut-in-Shoot, Texas to raise their children, James (Jay) II and Brennan. Unfortunately, James and Rebecca parted ways, and James relocated to Huntsville, Texas where he would raise his children and spend the remainder of his life. He eventually retired from law enforcement to pursue a degree in education through Sam Houston State University. After he graduated from SHSU, he became a teacher, then administrator, and finally a bus driver. During his new life in Huntsville, he met and married his final wife, Rebecca Derr Berry (clearly he had a thing for Rebecca's). James raised his children in Huntsville, and eventually lost his son there. Jay passed away at only 21, and while it devastated James, it helped him to realize he needed to live a life worth enjoying. There was nothing he loved more than his children and grandchildren. They meant the world to him, and he found absolute joy in spending as much time with them as he could. James spent the last 20 years of life enjoying all that it had to offer, including traveling with his wife around the world. He also had a love for cars, horses, guns, airplanes, and conversation. James is preceded in death by his parents Jack Harrell, Hugh Berry, and Bertha Berry, his son, James (Jay) Berry II, and his grandparents. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Derr Berry, daughter Brennan Berry Natho, and husband Karl, his grandchildren Christopher, Kaidence, Keegan, and Kwynn Natho, his sister Darlene Tramonte and husband Lonnie, brothers: Bobby Myers and wife Johnnie Bob, and Sam Myers; stepson: James McMillian and wife Veronica; stepdaughters: Carrie McMillian, Rebecca Kooi and husband Geert, Sonya McMillian, Susan Henry; other grandchildren: Madison, Macey, Molly, McKenzie, Liberty, Allen, Jacie, Emmett, Elexus, Jordan, Chad, Heather, and Bryson; great grandchildren: Valley, Mayson, Paisley, Hunter, and Aurora; several cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is also survived by his extended family: Allie Wyatt, Liz, Lee Hamrick, and Gail Thompson. Services for James will be held at Waller-Thorton Funeral Home in Huntsville, TX on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 2 P.M. There will be a private family interment at Houston National Cemetery at a later date.