DORIS ALEXANDER BERG

1924-2019

Doris, better known as “Dolly,” took her seat at the celestial bridge table on May 3, 2019, in New Orleans, La., at the age of 95.

She was born to Sidney and Ida Alexander in Houston,

Tx, March 28, 1924. After graduating from Rosenberg High School, she attended The University of Texas at Austin for two years. She wanted to pursue a career in art, but left college to support her mother when her brother Samuel was called up in WWII. She worked for the US Weather Bureau in Houston from 1942 to1951, when she met Richard (“Dick”) Berg while waiting for an elevator. They were soon wed by Rabbi Hyman Schachtel, the only clergyman willing to unite them because he believed that love transcended differences in religion. After moving to Washington D.C., they had three children. The family was transferred to Mexico in 1963 for Dick’s work with the US Foreign Service, and they lived there primarily until he retired. Dick and Dolly built their dream home outside Houston in Missouri City, Texas, with help from their architect son, Charles, and Dick’s brother, Charles a master carpenter. Dolly remained in her beloved home after Dick passed in 1997. She moved to New Orleans to live with her son Charles in 2010, but remained a life-time Longhorn fan.

Dolly was a formidable bridge player: she wrote the first English-Spanish guide to playing bridge, and achieved her Life Master. She joked that on her gravestone she simply wanted the words “She passed.” Mostly self-taught, she won awards for her oil paintings that were often inspired by her experience in Mexico. She painted cards and small works in acrylics until her death. Above all, she loved her family.

Her humor and talents are much missed. She is survived by her children, Thomas Berg (Nancy), Charles Berg, and Deena Berg; daughter-in-law Robin Cavanaugh; grandchildren Amanda Berg Gunter (Bradley), Austin Berg Parker, and Ben Cavanaugh Berg; greatgrandchildren Edsel and Dolly Gunter; sister-in-laws Dorothy Berg and Nancy Berg; and nieces Carolyn Ramirez (Joe) and Betty Rodgers (Bob), and family friends Sam Armstrong, Father Louis Molinelli, and Chris Williams.

Donations in her memory may be made to The Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter, #1 Humane Way, Jefferson, LA 70123