Remembering Bill Berry

Bill Berry was The Cave’s first client. I am broken today with the news that yesterday, Sunday January 16th, 2022, he lost his battle with COVID. Many of you knew Bill either as a workout companion, and/or coach. He brought so much to so many people’s lives, we will miss him dearly. Over the years many of his stories have been told at The Cave, and I wanted to share a few here.

Bill’s journey with The Cave began unexpectedly. Bill was a pastor here in Marin County for many years. A part of his calling was bringing pastors together in an area to work together. Through this work he spent about a month in India each year around September. In August one year he was delivering a sermon on community, and how we all need to be comfortable asking for and giving help. During the sermon he gave the example that he needed help getting in shape. Then he said, “So when I get back from India, Roger is going to help me get in shape”. Note, that The

Cave did not yet exist. I was in the beginning stages of starting the gym, but was still working as an engineer. This was totally unexpected to me, but I agreed and we started planning. Bill, always being one for community, gathered 9 other pastors from around the county, and we started an early morning workout a couple times a week in the basement of what is now Anthem Church. This began a fitness journey for Bill that continued through the rest of his life.

 

Bill was one of the most humble men I have ever known. His faith was the guiding force through his life. He strove diligently to live as he believed he was called to live, and cared deeply to lead others to this calling. He expressed this calling with love and continually looked inward to help keep himself out of the way of the message he was called to deliver.

This humility and care was apparent in his own training as a student. He dutifully followed coaches instructions, even when those instructions went against his personal preferences. About a year into Bill’s fitness journey I was at a conference with him. At this point Bill had been diligent about working out, and it had made a big difference. However, he was still struggling when it game to nutrition. As is typical at conferences the meals were buffet style, so Bill and I were sitting next to each other and I told him to look at the differences between our plates. He responded with, “But, I just don’t like vegetables”. Prior to this, his diet was predominantly meat, potatoes, and chocolate. My response was “Bill, you are not 12, go get some vegetables and eat them!”. He did as I asked, and from that point forward he completely changed his eating habits for the better.

This diligence and work led Bill ultimately to compete in the CrossFit Games. He performed exceptionally well, with his best finish being 13th in the world in the 60+ age category. His t-shirts from The Games are on the wall.

Bill has touched many at The Cave. I know he cared deeply about this community and made it a point to come workout with us any time he was in town. Bill is survived by his wife Connie, his children Matt, James, and Beth, and his grandchildren Sarai, Kathryn, Faith, Josh, Hannah, Spencer, Ian, and McKenzie.

 

Incredibly Bill gave a talk recently that would be directed to all of us as we work through this.