Jack K. Berlien, of Amelia Island, Fla., passed away on March 29, 2022, less than one week after his 79th birthday.
He was born March 23, 1943, in Angola, In. to Robert and Zema Berlien. He attended schools in Angola and went on to Purdue University where he earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1966. While at Purdue, he became a member of the Omega Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and remained a loyal supporter of the Fraternity both at the Omega Chapter as well as on the National Level. Jack was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy after completing the ROTC program at Purdue and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. After his discharge from the Navy, Jack spent his career in civil engineering and Building Construction in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Virginia. During his successful career in civil engineering, he took some time off to own and operate a restaurant, the Binnacle, in St. Croix, Virgin Islands with his partner Peter Henry. After six interesting and colorful years in the restaurant business in the islands he returned to his career in Building Construction in Florida. After retirement, Jack was able to continue his love of travel and service to others. He lived in Alexandria, Va. for more than 25 years and often spent winters in Fernandina Beach until he moved there permanently in 2019.
Jack was the biggest and most loyal sports fan. He was very fond of his Purdue Boilermakers and rooted for them for 62 years. He faithfully attended the Big Ten Basketball Tournament since the tournament began in 1998. He attended these games with his closest hometown and college buddies and looked forward to their reunion and the games each year. He also loved the game of baseball and the Washington Nationals baseball team. He was a season ticket holder since the team moved to Washington in 2005. He had the most impressive collection of baseball hats.
He supported not only sports teams, but also, and most importantly, his family and many, many friends. He frequently went out of his way to visit and foster his relationships with those near and dear to him. He was the best at staying connected to those he loved.
An amazing volunteer, he was incredibly generous with his time, and too many charitable organizations to mention benefited from his generosity and time. He was a proud veteran and loved to participate and help veteran organizations whenever he could.
Jack is survived by his loving partner, Sheila Bradley, her son Scott (Debbie), and her grandson Tomas, stepdaughter, Lilli (Ty) Joncas and three grandchildren, Jane, Jack and Drew Joncas, brother Jim (Gay) Berlien and their 4 children, Elissa (Jason) Lebron, Abigail (Justin) Main, Adam (Melissa) Berlien and Joshua (Taylor) Berlien and 13 great nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Silvia, brother John and partner Ann Biraben.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 2, 2022, at Sutton’s on the Square, 160 Public Square, Angola, Indiana.
Interment for Jack will be in Jacksonville National Cemetery, Jacksonville, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to K9s For Warriors (https://www.k9sforwarriors.org), or the Pi Kappa Phi Foundation – Omega CIF, 2015 Ayrsley Town Blvd, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28273