The Berry College Chapel was built by students in 1915 and dedicated in 1916. The Chapel Cemetery, located on the north side, is one of four cemeteries located on the campus. In 1942, Martha Berry, the founder of the Berry Schools, was buried on the south side of the chapel. A Berry Schools teacher and former Daughters of Berry president, Frances Cone Olmsted Keown, who died on April 14, 1945, was the first person to be buried on the north side of the chapel. On May 15, 1951, Martha Freeman, Berry’s housekeeper, servant, constant adviser, and helper became the second person and the only African American to be buried in the area. In February of 1957, the Board of Trustees established an official policy that individuals who were eligible for burial in the chapel plot were those “who had served on the staff of the Schools for 25 years, or longer, 10 of those years having been during the lifetime of the late founder, Miss Martha Berry.” The practice continued and 39 others were later buried there. In 2022, the College honored Drs. Ouida Word Dickey and Garland Martin Dickey with a marker to celebrate their contributions to Berry, although they are interred in Kelsoe, Tennessee.
Those interred and honored at the Berry College Chapel:
Martha McChesney Berry (1865-1942) began her work with underprivileged children by creating day schools in the outlying areas of Rome, including Possum Trot, Mount Alto and Foster’s Bend. In 1902, she established the Boy’s Industrial School and created the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1909. In 1926, a junior college was established and in 1930 it became a four-year school, Berry College.
Mary Alice Barnes (1897-1984) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1918 and remained at Berry where she taught domestic science and was supervisor of the guest cottages. She was the first president of the Daughters of Berry in 1939, and after her retirement in 1975 she became a hostess at Oak Hill.
L. Geddins Cannon (1908-1997) graduated from the Mount Berry School for Boys in 1932. He then became Martha Berry’s longtime chauffeur and personal aid, acting as her secretary and driver. He ran her personal errands and accompanied her on her travels.
Dr. Samuel Henry Cook (1887-1975) began his career at Berry College in 1910 and served as a teacher, athletic director, dean of the Berry Schools and College from 1921 to 1957, and acting president of the Berry Schools from 1951 to 1953.
Dr. Garland Martin Dickey (1922-1982), a 1942 graduate of Berry College, returned after serving in World War II to reestablish the athletic program, serving for many years as the athletic director and the head of the Department of Physical Education. He is also credited with identifying the Vikings as the school mascot.
Dr. Ouida Blanche Word Dickey (1928-2019) graduated from Berry College in 1950 and became a faculty member in the Department of Business Administration. She later became a professor of business and dean of Academic Services and was the first female to be tenured at the college.
Mamie Wilda McGinnis Dodd (1908-1995) worked in the Berry College Store for 28 years and was active in the cultural and social life of Berry as a member of the Daughters of Berry.
William Vestus Dodd (1905-1984) graduated from Berry College in 1928 and returned to work at Berry in 1935 as the manager of the school commissary until his retirement in 1965.
Bertha Hackett Ewing (1895-1967) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1917. In 1920, she returned to Berry where she worked as secretary to President G. Leland Green and interim president Dr. Samuel Henry Cook before becoming assistant to the registrar of the Berry Schools.
Moses Courtwright Ewing (1888-1958) joined the Berry faculty to lead the Department of Music in 1931. After serving in the Works Progress Association during World War II, he returned to Berry in 1951 and became the director of the choir, glee club, quartets, orchestra and band, in addition to playing the organ for services in the College Chapel.
Elsie A. Ford (1893-1981) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1913 and attended the University of Georgia, the Asheville Normal School and Emory University. For many years, she taught English and penmanship at the Berry Schools, was the principal of the Possum Trot Practice School and the editor of The Berry Alumni Quarterly from 1929-1945.
Fred F. Ford (1897-1965) graduated from the Mount Berry Farm School in 1920 and remained at Berry after graduation as the superintendent of the Laundry and Heating Plant until his retirement in 1962 after 41 years of service to Berry.
Martha Freeman (1844-1951) was born an enslaved person and is believed to be emancipated before serving in Martha Berry's home. She became an influential person and devoted friend of Martha Berry, the Berry family and students at the Berry schools. She was the second person and the only African American to be buried at the Berry College Chapel Cemetery.
Flora Humphrey Green (1887-1974) was a graduate of Barton Academy and wife of Dr. G. Leland Green, president of Berry College. She was the president of the Mount Berry Garden Club and a close friend of Martha Berry whom she assisted in entertaining distinguished guests of the Berry Schools
Gardner Leland Green (1883-1971) was a graduate of Barton Academy and the University of Vermont before becoming the principal of the boys’ and girls’ high schools at Berry in 1920. He established the junior college at Berry in 1926 and secured accreditation for Berry College in 1930, as its president.
Iva Lee Hamilton (1912-1973) was a 1931 graduate of Berry College and worked at Berry until 1934. She then became a principal at East Rome and South Rome elementary schools.
Ethel Edwards Hamrick (1892-1983) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1915. She was active in the Berry community, a charter member of the Daughters of Berry and the president of the Mount Berry Garden Club.
Henry Grady Hamrick, Sr. (1889-1975) was a graduate of the Berry School in 1912 and helped Martha Berry start the Foundation School, becoming its first principal in 1916. He remained as the headmaster of the school that became Berry Academy from 1916 to 1933.
Inez Wooten Henry (1905-1979) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1921 and became a secretary, personal assistant and traveling companion to Martha Berry. She worked with novelist Harnett Kane to write the first biography of Martha Berry’s life, Miracle in the Mountains, was the editor of The Southern Highlander and was the first director of Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum.
William Thomas Henry (1899-1956) graduated from the Foundation School in 1923 and remained at Berry working as an assistant in the school store and the bookkeeper for the Berry stores.
Clifford Woodfin Hill (1891-1960) After serving in World War I, he returned to Berry and graduated from the Mount Berry School for Boys. He was assistant steward in the Blackstone Dining Hall and then became the steward of the Mount Berry School for Boys in what became Hill Dining Hall, where he remained until his retirement after 41 years of service to the school.
Yetive Beard Hill (1906-1987) was a dietitian and supervisor of Ford Dining Hall. She was active in the social and cultural life of the Berry Schools and was a charter member of the Daughters of Berry and the president of the Mount Berry Garden Club from 1941 to 1942.
Caroline Bostick Hoge (1892-1976) was a graduate of Winthrop College and came to Berry to open the Department of Home Economics where she taught for several years. While raising her family, she continued to help Berry, working voluntarily to classify historical records in the school’s files.
Edward Herman Hoge (1883-1960) attended Sullivan and Chrichton’s Business College and worked in business until he came to Berry in 1910. He was a trusted friend of Martha Berry and worked as the comptroller until he retired in 1953.
Mabel Loyd Johnson (1892-1961) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1917, became an instructor in arts and crafts, and served many years as a volunteer nurse in the campus infirmary at Berry. She was active in the Berry community as a member of the Sewing Club and a charter member of the Daughters of Berry of which she was the president from 1947 to 1948.
Walter A. Johnson, Sr. (1892-1983) graduated from the Berry School for Boys in 1912 and served in World War I and II. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Davidson College, he returned to Berry, where he spent his entire career working in the Office of Business and continued his service as the president of the Berry Alumni Association for many years.
Hubert E. Jones, Sr. (1910-1980) served Berry School for 40 years as the director of the Physical Plant. The building that now houses Facilities Services, built in 1973, was renamed the Jones Building in 1976 in his honor for many years of service to Berry.
Virginia S. Jones (1908-2005) worked for 30 years as secretary to the dean from 1944 to 1974 and also oversaw the sewing room where the girls’ uniforms were made for a number of years.
Clyde Bernard Keim (1882-1962) came to Berry in 1910 as the head of the Department of Music. He initiated the first men’s Glee Club and established the Berry Orchestra, Berry Band and choral clubs. Serving a total of 33 years, he remains one of Berry's longest tenured music faculty members.
Sally Giffin Keim (1893-1961) graduated from Purdue University and owned Keim Studio of Music in Rome with Clyde Bernard Keim.
Frances Olmsted Keown (1877-1945) worked as a teacher at the Berry Schools from 1921 to 1922. She was active in three women’s organizations at Berry: the Sewing Club, the Mount Berry Garden Club and the Daughters of Berry, of which she was a president from 1941 to 1942.
Marcus Gordon Keown (1882-1956) attended the University of Georgia after graduating from the Boys’ Industrial School in 1905. He was the manager of “Ye Countire” store, Berry’s first postmaster, the head of land acquisition for Berry, became a member of the Board of Trustees and was the acting director of the schools immediately following Martha Berry’s death in 1942, as she had requested.
Beatrice Ray Moon (1894-1979) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1913 and lived at the Berry Schools for much of her life. She was active in the Berry community as a charter member of the Mt. Berry Church, the Mount Berry Garden Club and the Daughters of Berry, of which she was president from 1949 to 1950.
Fair Caldwell Moon (1894-1963) graduated from the Berry School in 1913. He was the manager of the school stores for 44 years, and in 1960 the Moon Building was named in his honor.
Elizabeth Smith Mooney (1903-1983) graduated from Berry College in 1932 and taught Latin in the Berry School for Boys. She was, for a time, a secretary for Martha Berry. She also taught English at Armuchee High School and North Georgia Business School.
Walter McKinley Mooney (1892-1968) graduated from the Mount Berry Farm School in 1921. He became an employee of the schools serving as superintendent of the Ford buildings and grounds for 41 years until his retirement in 1967.
Elena Stephens Moore (1907-2003) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1930 and Berry College in 1934. She was a teacher at Glenwood Elementary School until her retirement in 1972.
Winifred “Chief” Fletcher Moore (1907-1986) attended the Foundation School and graduated from Berry College in 1934. He was a teacher and coach at the boys’ school and then became the supervisor of the physical plant at the Mount Berry School for Boys on the Mountain Campus.
Nora Cumby Pirkle (1903-1998) worked for several years in the Mississippi school system and then came to live and work at Berry. She was the oldest living member of the Berry College Chapel congregation at the time of her death.
Willis Nathaniel Pirkle (1903-1986) came to Berry to teach chemistry in 1942 and then became the head of the Department of Chemistry in 1951 – a position he held until his retirement in 1974.
Clifton Flowe Russell (1893-1969) graduated from the Berry School in 1915. After military service, he returned to work as the superintendent of Agriculture and Forestry for Berry in 1925.
Lillian Hulsey Russell (1900-1967) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1917. She was active in the Berry community, in the Mount Berry Garden Club and was one of the co-founders and charter members of the Daughters of Berry, serving as its president from 1942 to 1943.
Daniel C. Sullivan (1903-1997) After graduating from Oberlin College and serving in World War II, he taught for 23 years in the Rome City Schools and retired as a school principal in 1968.
Willie Sue Cordell Sullivan (1903-1995) graduated from the Martha Berry School for Girls in 1928 and was hired as a junior faculty member who taught and supervised students in handicrafts and weaving for 41 years. She was a charter member of the Daughters of Berry (26th president), a member of the Women’s Club and president of the Mount Berry Garden Club.
The Daughters of Berry, along with many campus partners, honored these important members of Berry’s history by restoring portions of the cemetery in the spring of 2024.