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BLACKVILLE – A memorial service for William Grady “Bill” Berry, 69, will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 2 p.m. at Folk Funeral Home in Williston. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. The memorial service will be officiated by Dr. Thomas Terry and Dr. William A. Sandifer. Honorary pallbearers will be Ricky Black; Dodd Buie III; Robert Lowman Jr.; and Phillip B. Ness. A private interment will be held at a later date at the Blackville Cemetery. For memorial contributions, the family has designated Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) K-9 Donations Fund, P.O. Box 384, Barnwell, S.C. 29812.
Bill Berry passed away at MUSC, Charleston, with his sister and niece by his side. He was a resident of Barnwell, S.C. Born in Augusta, Ga. on February 1, 1956, he was the son of the late Anita Johnson Berry and James T. “Pete” Berry of Blackville. Bill graduated from Jefferson Davis Academy, Presbyterian College, and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He attended Presbyterian (PC) on an academic and athletic scholarship. He was an Eagle Scout. At Jefferson Davis Academy, he was chosen as the male student to enter the JDA Senior Class Hall of Fame in 1974. In his senior year at PC, he was selected as captain of the football team. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and a member of the track team.
Bill Berry earned a Juris Doctor (JD) at the University of South Carolina School of Law. After being admitted to the South Carolina Bar, he started the Public Defender Office for Bamberg and Barnwell Counties and served as Chief Public Defender and Guardian Ad Litem for abused and neglected children.
He was accepted into the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps). As an Army Captain, he served in Panama prior to Operation Just Cause. After his Army service, Bill opened a law practice in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Bill loved sports throughout his life, especially football. He was a loyal Gamecock fan.
Surviving are his sister Kathy Berry Orr (Tom Gantt) and his niece Kathryn Liana (Orr) Gantt.
Folk Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
