Colonel Richard Warren Berger, United States Marine Corps (Retired), died peacefully in Carbondale, Colorado on April 10, 2018, with his wife Karen at his side, following a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Richard (aka Rich/Dick) was born on April 4, 1944, in New York City to Marjorie and Wally Berger and was raised in Virginia and New Jersey. Richard graduated from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois with a degree in Political Science and completed his Masters in Engineering at George Washington University.

Richard entered the Marine Corps in the fall of 1966. His duty stations included Quantico, Virginia; Camp Pendleton, California; 29 Palms, California; Long Island, New York; Norfolk, Virginia; Okinawa, Japan; Tampa, Florida; Washington, DC; Stuttgart, Germany; and, Honolulu, Hawaii. He loved his 26-year career – the adventures, the camaraderie, the job – he was a patriot, who was to the end "Always Faithful".

Following Richard's time as an active-duty Marine, he went on to become the Director of Managed Network Services Operations at Sprint Corporation in Reston, Virginia. Retiring from Sprint, he became the President of the McGhee Foundation in Middleburg, VA, a non-profit organization that provided cultural and educational opportunities for youth in the Virginia Piedmont area.

Richard spent his retirement skiing and restoring family cabins in Colorado, fishing, reading everything from the treatises of Cicero to Jack Reacher, working as a volunteer fireman in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, sitting in the bleachers cheering on his grandsons, playing countless games of tag, and loving being Papa.

Richard was one of those individuals who truly made the world a better place. He knew how to touch the heart, teach anything, and inspire others to do their best. He will be remembered for his zest for life, his sense of humor, laughter and smile, his dedication to the Marine Corps, and his love for his family.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Karen (Hunter); daughter Kelly (Jerry); son Charlie (Allison); six grandsons – Benjamin, Zachary, Eliot, Milo, Harvie, and Daxon; and his sister and brother, Kathleen and Jeffrey Berger. He was preceded in death by his grandson Nicholas. The interment is scheduled for June 15, 2018, at 12 PM at the Quantico National Cemetery in Quantico, Virginia. A reception will follow at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the University of Colorado's Pollyea Leukemia Research Fund at either https://giving.cu.edu/fund/pollyea-leukemia-research-fund or by mail to the University of Colorado Foundation, Pollyea Leukemia Research Fund/0222406, PO Box 17126, Denver, CO 80217-9155.