Obituary of Mary F. Berk

On Friday, January 14, 2011, Mary F. Berk (nee Finnigan), an accomplished musician, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family. Mary grew up in Crystal Lake, IL. She received her BME with Honors in Performance from Lawrence University. She held the position of Principal Flute and Soloist with L'Orquesta Sinfonica del Noreste in Guadalajara, Mexico. She was awarded a teaching assistantship while completing post graduate studies in Flute at Indiana University, Bloomington. Mary joined the faculty of Roosevelt University's Chicago Musical College and free-lanced in Chicago before moving to the Philadelphia area in 1982 where she continued her teaching and performing career. Mary was the Principal Flute and a soloist with the Reading (PA) Symphony Orchestra starting in 1982, a job she loved. As a member of the International Flute Orchestra, she traveled the world playing the bass flute. She became particularly interested in traditional Chinese music, performing on the dizi and dong xiao with Peter Tang's Chinese Music Ensemble. Mary is fondly remembered as a vibrant, loving, and generous, daughter, wife, aunt and friend. She is survived by her father Frederick T. & the late Mary Ellen (nee Palmer) Finnigan, her husband of 28 years, Richard C. Berk and her niece and nephew Josie & Russell Mallinckrodt. A small private memorial of her life will be held at a later date.Donations can be made to the cancer research charity of the donor's choosing in memory