Claudette Jean (Lewis) Berry

Claudette Jean (Lewis)

Berry, of Fair Oaks, Cali-

fornia passed away on

July 16, 2021, at the age of

84. Claudette was born

September 26, 1936, in

Williston, North Dakota to

parents Alfred and Mado-

lin Lewis. She grew up in

Minot, North Dakota,

where she attended Minot

High School. She attend-

ed Minot State University,

where she was Yearbook

Editor, Yearbook Queen

and Miss Minot, and was

a runner-up in the Miss

North Dakota Pageant.

She went back to school

as an adult and earned a

bachelor’s degree in Art

History and a master’s de-

gree in Public Administra-tion from California State

University, Sacramento.

She was on the Dean’s

List for all her time in

school, and she achieved

all of this while working

full-time, and as a single

parent. Although she was

proud of this, Claudette

always said that her

greatest accomplishment

was raising her two

wonderful daughters,

Kendall and Kelly.

Claudette worked for

sixteen years in the San

Juan Unified School Dis-

trict, primarily in the per-

sonnel department and for

the Board of Education.

From there she went on to

Lodi Unified School Dis-

trict, first as the Director

of Classified Personnel,

and then as the Assistant

Superintendent of Human

Resources and Employee

Relations, the job she held

until she retired. Clau-

dette loved her career and

always had interesting

stories to share. She was

highly respected and

trusted in her field. Her

knowledge and intelli-

gence, and calm and kind

demeanor were highly

valued. She loved to

laugh. Over the years, she

formed strong bonds and

lifelong friendships with

many of her co-workers.

She also remained close

to many old friends from

her childhood.

Claudette excelled in all

things creative. She

delighted in making her

home a beautiful show-

place, and after she re-

tired, she loved nothing

more than being in her

craft room, creating cards

that were true works of

art. She was moved by all

things beautiful, be it a

painting or sculpture, a

well-crafted passage in a

book, a musical recording,

or the wonders of the na-

tural world. She loved

visiting lakes and the oce-

an and frequently went

with her daughter Kelly to

feed the ducks at the

American River. Children

also brought her great joy,

and she was immensely

proud of her grandchil-

dren, Dakota and Cooper.

Claudette was preceded

in death by: her parents,

Alfred and Madolin

Lewis, and her brother,

Dennis Lewis.

She is survived by: her

daughters Kelly Berry and

Kendall Berry Morlan, her

son-in-law Michael Mor-

lan, her grandchildren

Dakota Morlan and Coop-

er Morlan, her sister Max-

ine (Mickey) Lewis Cor-

riea and brother-in-law

Henry (Hank) Corriea, her

nephew Greg Bodine and

his wife Tonja, her Aunt

Mabel Farroh, and her

cousins, Wanda Farroh,

Carol Farroh Mogstad,

and Steve Farroh.

A Celebration of Life

will be held on Wednes-

day, August 11th at 11:00

a.m. at the Lake Natoma

Inn, 702 Gold Lake Drive,

in Folsom, California. In

lieu of flowers, a donation

may be made in memory

of Claudette to the Ameri-

can Heart Association.