Trucking pioneer leaves behind a family legacy
Stu Berry helped transform 2-man trucking operation into local transportation empire
A pioneer of the South Okanagan trucking industry has received his final dispatch.
Stu Berry died of natural causes March 21 at Haven Hill Retirement Centre in Penticton. He was 87.
Besides a large extended family, his legacy also includes a transport company that still bears his name: Berry and Smith Trucking.
Now headquartered in Penticton, the company was founded in Naramata in 1954 by Berry and his lifelong friend, Ted Smith.
“Stu was the hardest working, most honest guy I met in my whole life,” Smith said in an interview Tuesday.
“He was a good guy – you couldn’t find any better.”
The company started with just the two of them and one truck each, which they used to haul coal and fruit from orchards that was packed in boxes and loaded by hand.
“We worked our butts off trying to make a living,” recalled Smith.
In the 1960s, the company expanded into the passenger transportation business, eventually securing the local school bus contract, which it still holds, and moved its operations to the industrial area of Penticton, where it’s headquartered today and also handles the local transit service.
Smith sold his share of the company to Berry in 1970 to pursue a more action-filled career with local fire departments.
“I wasn’t too enthused about sitting in a truck for the rest of my life,” he explained.
Berry stayed at the helm of the company until 1998, when he turned over the reins to his sons, Matt and Mark, who today as president and vice-president, respectively, oversee a fleet of trucks numbering around 100, including contracted owner-operators, in addition to transit and school buses.
Matt said his father had a hard time staying away from the office after he retired.
“In the later years, he was mostly just visiting with staff and certainly enjoying the company of the employees,” Matt recalled.
“He was definitely a fixture here, and very much respected and appreciated.”
Outside of work, Berry served as a Naramata director on the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and was involved with Toastmasters, Rotary and the Naramata Wood Wackers trail maintenance group. He also helped found the Naramata Community Choir.
Berry’s health took a turn in January 2016, when he suffered a stroke that left him disabled. Yet he managed to keep a good attitude even after moving into Haven Hill.
“He was so patient and just handled the situation so well, it was really unbelievable,” Matt said.
His father taught him the importance of treating his employees and customers right, and providing good service.
Matt is now passing on those lessons to the next generation; his son, Parker, recently graduated from business school and is learning the ropes on the operations side, while his nephew, Kaolin Mallette, is a commercial transport mechanic and lead hand for the company on that end of things.
“There will be a transition to those guys – but not for a little while,” Matt said with a laugh. “I’m only 57 years old, so not quite at retirement age.”
Matt extended thanks to those who have wished his family well and visited with his dad at Haven Hill, along with the staff at the facility who provided care.
Berry leaves behind his wife, Roberta, four children, six grandchildren and four great grand-children. A celebration of life is planned for June 30 at 2 p.m. at Columbia Hall in Naramata.