Barb Berman had a heart for Rockford and its people

Chris Green, Rockford Register Star
Updated ·2 min read

Barb Berman retired as the executive director of the local chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, but how most people know her is through her 30+ years of volunteering.

In her retirement, Berman worked with dozens of nonprofits and was probably more busy then than when she had a day job.

She volunteered with the former Rock Valley Heritage Kiwanis Club Key Club, the Ethnic Heritage Museum, Rockford Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, Rockford Network of Professional Women, Red Shoe Run, 911 Board, Becca’s Closet, Greenwich Village Art Fair, Lifescape Senior Recognition Breakfast and more. And she served on dozens of committees.

Berman died April 14 surrounded by family. She was 89.

More: A champion for ethnic distinctions

Barb Berman
Barb Berman

James Patterson, senior program director at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, said Berman was instrumental in the formation of the Foundation's In Youth We Trust program, a youth philanthropy program involving high school students making decisions on grant applications submitted from other youth. The program teaches the students leadership skills and how to debate in a respectful fashion.

"She worked as much as I did because she loved it so much," he said. "She had a heart for children."

David Ruffin of the Ethnic Heritage Museum said Berman was instrumental in the museum purchasing the neighboring Graham-Ginestra House and in making the museum campus what it is today.

""She was a real go-getter," he said. "She will be truly missed."

Dick and Barb Berman are the guest of honor in 2021 at the Ethnic Heritage Museum where the gazebo on the museum grounds was dedicated to them for their decades of support.
Dick and Barb Berman are the guest of honor in 2021 at the Ethnic Heritage Museum where the gazebo on the museum grounds was dedicated to them for their decades of support.

The gazebo on the museum property was dedicated in 2021 to Barb and her husband, Dick Berman, in recognition of their decades of support.

In 2010, Berman was named the Rockford Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, the chamber’s most prestigious award given to those who have made significant contributions to the community through business and philanthropy.

Berman's daughter, Diane Fitzgerald of Rockford, called her mother "a champion for all in the Rockford community."

"Rockford is a very caring community," Berman said in a 2014 interview with the Rockford Register Star. "I have volunteered for almost every nonprofit and am amazed at the involvement and generosity of the people in Rockford."

A celebration of life will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, at Rockford Country Club.

Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and X @chrisfgreen.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Longtime community volunteer, Rockford's Barb Berman dies at 89