Wayne Berry, 83, of Williston, ND passed away with family by his side on Thursday, October 9, 2025 at the Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Home in Williston, ND.

Wayne Lee Berry was born to Francis "Jack" and Dorothy "Mae" Berry in Sidney, MT on March 20, 1942. He grew up on the family farm & ranch 11 miles west of Fairview, MT in the Sioux Pass area, which his maternal grandfather homesteaded in 1907. A few years later, his younger brother, Craig "Pat" joined the family. Wayne loved country life and was a proud charter member of the "Hay Creek Busy Bees 4H Club." He attended 1st through 12th grade in Fairview and participated in many activities including band, basketball, FFA, football and being senior class president. He was also always busy during the summer months working on the farm.

After high school graduation in 1960, Wayne joined the Montana Army National Guard. In the fall of 1961, he enrolled at Montana State College (now University). After marrying Sharon Berry (Stordahl) in 1963, he graduated from Montana State with a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics.

After college Wayne was assistant county agent in Williston, then took a job in Sidney as a field man for Holly Sugar (Every Day’s a Holly Day), and while there, daughter Heather was born. After a move back to Williston in the early 1970s, where son Justin was born, Wayne started teaching at UND-Williston (now Williston State College), where he taught agriculture and economics for over 35 years. Wayne enjoyed teaching hundreds of students at the college (he was a favorite professor), as well as being involved in local & regional agricultural & community organizations.

In the late 1970's, Wayne began also helping his mother with the family farm and ranch. In time he planted the tilled fields back to grass, transitioned to only ranching, and created an innovative rotational-grazing cattle operation. His holistic, self-sustaining "grass farm" became an evolving three decade project for him, and he enjoyed seeing the resulting changes to the ranch using this method (greater native plant & grass diversity, a dramatic improvement in soil health, and reduced stress on the livestock & people involved).

After retiring from teaching, Wayne & Sharon started spending winters in Arizona, and loved spending more time with family & friends year-round, especially their 5 grandchildren who are Wayne's greatest joy.

Wayne worked hard, and although humble had many achievements in his life (distinguished service with the Montana Army National Guard retiring at the rank of Major, a long career in higher education as an esteemed instructor, and a respected authority and speaker on Holistic Resource Management), but his proudest accomplishment was his family. Wayne had a natural gift for genuine connection with people, was an excellent listener, always had an encouraging word, treated everyone with kindness & respect, and had a sharp mind with a great sense of humor. He loved reading, watching prairie grass grow, visiting with people, keeping in touch with friends and spending time with his family. One of Wayne's many mottos was "Leave it better than you found it", and he certainly did that with his life.

Wayne is survived by his beloved wife Sharon; his children, Heather Berry (Curt Fender) of Cave Creek, AZ, and Justin (Whitney) Berry of Grand Forks ND; his adored grandchildren, Kendall Fender, Nora Berry, Jordan Fender, Ellen Berry & Jack Berry; as well as numerous cousins & extended family. Preceding him in death were his parents; and brother, Pat. Wayne loved deeply, was deeply loved by many and will be missed every day.

Memorial Contribution