Richard Drew DeBerry, Sr.

Richard Drew DeBerry, Sr. was born to the late Charles Burke DeBerry, Sr. and Charlotte Randall DeBerry on April 27, 1941 and passed away on February 25, 2021. He was 79 years old.

He was preceded in death by his brother Charles Burke DeBerry, Jr.

He is survived by his wife Jane Stevenson Martin; sons, Richard Drew, Jr. (Elizabeth), Charles Randall (Tina) and Jason Hall (Caroline); step-daughter, Mary Kathryn Papaioannou (Jan-Paul); grandchildren, Katie, Matt, Avery, Alex, Posie, Banjo and May; and great grandchildren, Eli and Charlotte.

Richard spent his early years in Coral Gables, Florida. After graduating from Coral Gables High School in 1958, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. After coming off active duty, he attended Georgia State University in Atlanta where he earned a BBA in Risk Management. At Georgia State, Richard served as SGA President and was inducted into Blue Key Society. He was also a member of the Epsilon Omega chapter of Kappa Sigma social fraternity. Richard remained involved throughout the years with Kappa Sigma, serving as alumni advisor and assistant grand master for Alabama. He started a Kappa Sigma chapter at UAB and remained in contact with the brothers of that chapter until his death. After graduation, he was employed by Johnson & Johnson. After leaving J&J, he worked for Zimmer Orthopedics in Nebraska for 5 years. In 1975, he moved to Birmingham to begin a distributorship that covered Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle for DePuy Orthopedics. In 1992, DePuy manufacturing was purchased by J&J, and at that time he sold his distributorship and retired from medical sales. He then started an automobile wholesale business, Inverness Wholesale, that he owned for 25 years.

His hobbies included a passion for golf and automobiles. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Jane S. Martin scholarship fund at Samford University's Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing. A private graveside service will be held.