Honoring a dedicated life

Public life is often a lonely, thankless vocation. Half the battle is navigating the thicket of special interests and managing to get elected. Once elected, the hope is to insulate from the pressure-group sway, putting the public interest first. No easy feat, that.

Jean Berkey, who died Aug. 21, thought of herself as a lawmaker in the public interest. Unlike many of her colleagues, she was not a career politician, but was appointed to fill the House seat of her friend, the late Pat Scott, in 2000. Anchored by a clear-eyed career before entering the circus of elected life, Berkey could distinguish harmony from noise. Experience begets wisdom. Berkey was in her early 60s and already had lived a life in full before trekking to Olympia.

After graduating from Everett High School and Everett Community College, she worked as an account clerk at General Telephone and served as a labor council delegate. As The Herald’s Sharon Salyer reports, Berkey was the first female recipient of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers scholarship to the University of Washington, where she graduated in 1974 with a degree in business administration.

Her focus was community-centric. At various times, Berkey served as an Everett Community College trustee, as well as a board member for the Snohomish County United Way and the Medic One Foundation. She also was a recipient of the Everett Community College Distinguished Alumni award.

We are judged by the company we keep. One of Berkey’s closest friends, Carl Gipson, Sr., is a testament to service above self. Gipson, namesake of the Everett Senior Center, served on the center’s foundation board with Berkey. “Her work and dedication to the foundation was, without a doubt, extraordinary,” Gipson told The Herald. As Rep. Mike Sells notes, Berkey was “a stalwart in area politics.” Berkey did the envelope stuffing, the phone-banking, the parade advancing, the invaluable, often tedious leg work that propels a campaign. In the pre-social media era, Berkey joined forces with a formidable crew of Democratic women who were the gatekeepers, the galvanizing power in Democratic circles. Women like Liz McLaughlin, Betty Bagley, and Jan Mahlum. Berkey was the last survivor, and her passing marks a sea change, just as “moderate Democrat” and “moderate Republican” sound like oxymorons.

Politics was simpler once, and perhaps more honest. Jean Berkey made whole the promise of a life of service to the people of Everett and Snohomish County. She needs to be remembered.

A memorial service for Jean Berkey is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in the Weyerhaeuser Room at Everett Station, 3201 Smith Avenue.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

RGB version
Editorial cartoons for Monday, March 18

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Carson gets a chance to sound the horn in an Everett Fire Department engine with the help of captain Jason Brock during a surprise Make-A-Wish sendoff Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Thornton A. Sullivan Park in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: Everett voters will set course for city finances

This fall and in coming years, they will be asked how to fund and support the services they use.

Devotees of TikTok, Mona Swain, center, and her sister, Rachel Swain, right, both of Atlanta, monitor voting at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Editorial: Forced sale of TikTok ignores network of problems

The removal of a Chinese company would still leave concerns for data privacy and the content on apps.

Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, watches the State of the State speech by Gov. Jay Inslee on the second day of the legislative session at the Washington state Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Editorial: Legislature has its own production of ‘The Holdovers’

What state lawmakers left behind in good ideas that should get more attention and passage next year.

Comment: Measles outbreaks show importance of MMR vaccinations

The highly contagious disease requires a 95 percent vaccination rate to limit the spread of outbreaks.

Harrop: Should ‘affordable’ come at cost of quality of living?

As states push their cities to ignore zoning rules, the YIMBYs are covering for developers.

Saunders: Classified document cases show degrees of guilt

President Biden’s age might protect him, but the special prosecutor didn’t exonerate him either.

Comment: Clearing the internet of misinformation, deep fakes

With social networks’ spotty moderation record, users need to identify and call out problems they see.

Eco-Nomics: Price of gas, fossil fuels higher than you think

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels force unseen costs in climate disasters, illness and more.

Vote against I-2117 to keep best tool to protect climate

We voters will be offered the opportunity to repeal Washington state’s Climate… Continue reading

Lack of maternal health care raises risks of deadly sepsis

In today’s contentious climate, we often hear political debates about maternal health… Continue reading

Trump’s stance on abortion isn’t moderate; it’s dangerous

Voters deserve to know the facts and the truth about what will… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.