John Berbee

MADISON--John G. Berbee, age 91, died on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at Agrace Hospice Care in Fitchburg. He was born to Peter and Mary (Malone) Berbee in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on Oct. 12, 1925. During WWII, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and had just completed his training to deploy overseas when the war ended. After receiving his bachelor's degree in forestry from the University of Toronto in 1949, he received a master's degree in forestry from Yale University in 1950. Then he received his Ph.D in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1954, working on viral diseases in trees.
While working on his MS degree at Yale, he met Flora Kubsch, a research assistant, at the department coffee pot. They were married seven weeks later in her home state of Michigan. They celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this past July. John never forgot his Canadian roots, but proudly became an American citizen in 1982.
In 1957, John accepted an appointment as an assistant professor in the department of plant pathology at UW-Madison in 1957. During his time at the university, he, Flora and the children spent three years in Nigeria as part of the US Agency for International Development program to help establish a new university there.
John was a member of the West Madison Rotary Club for many years. He was also known to be at the ready in his Indian Hills neighborhood with a snowblower in a storm, or jumper cables on cold mornings. He retired from UW-Madison in 1989, and he and Flora embarked on a series of retirement adventures. They traveled around the United States In their Volkswagen camper van, seeing everything from Civil War battlefields to the spring bloom in Joshua Tree National Park. John enjoyed meeting people and had a great curiosity about learning new things that he passed along to his children. He was especially interested in their activities and new ventures, and was very proud of their achievements. He could always be counted upon to lead a robust discussion on politics or the stock market, and enjoyed reading and attending the opera. His and Flora's backyard garden was legendary, and they enjoyed many a bountiful harvest.
His survivors include his wife, Flora; daughter Mary Berbee (David Carmean), a professor of mycology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver; son Peter (Valerie Stromquist), employed at the UW Health BerbeeWalsh Emergency Department; and son James (Karen Walsh), employed at the Madison Veterans Administration Emergency Department. He is further survived by his grandson, Brian Carmean; and his sister, Mary Anthony of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Peter, and sisters Rita Berbee and Gay Balentine.
The family would like to acknowledge Lori Zander for her help in coordinating John's care, and the staff at Agrace Hospice for their exceptional care and kindness.
A visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 20, 2016 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to Agrace Hospice Care, 5395 East Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711.

Cress Funeral Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434