Richard Alfred Berg | PASSAGES

Published 1:29 pm Friday, July 17, 2015

Richard Alfred Berg, of Bainbridge Island, died peacefully June 29, 2015.

He was born Oct. 24, 1931, in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, the son of Captain Thor Berg and Bergliot Berg.

He held degrees from the universities of Washington and Alaska in foreign trade and transportation economics. His active career in the maritime industry spanned more than 43 years, from seaman to deck officer in the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard (Korean War time.)

He was executive assistant and Acting Governor for Governor John Haydon in American Samoa. He was a former general manager of the Washington State Ferries during the 1970s, and chairman of the Board of Pilotage Commissioners.

He was a former member of MM&P Local 90, a founding and honorary director of the International Marine Transit Association, and a companion of the Council of American Master Mariners.

Berg retired from the Saudi Arabian Oil Company ARAMCO as marine advisor. He held life memberships in the Poulsbo Sons of Norway and the Masonic Lodge of Bainbridge Island. He was active with the PNW Maritime Heritage Council as well as an active docent at the Bainbridge Historical Museum.

For more on Berg’s life, visit cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.