Robert “Bobby” DeBerry was born in Sumter on January 17, 1940 where his parents lived, and passed away on December 14, 2014 at age 74 at the Bruce McCandless Colorado State Veterans Home in Florence, Colorado.
His father served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Bob’s early education was in the Sumter public schools. While in school, he was visiting a friend who had an application form to attend the Air Force Academy. He gave Bobby the application. Bobby applied and was accepted and enrolled in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and graduated in June of 1962. His best friend from school, Roger Roy, also graduated starting the following year.
He married JoAnne Kovach the day after graduation from the Academy. He attended intelligence training in New Mexico and when the Cuban Missile crisis erupted and he was sent to Florida. He was doing intelligence training in Florida where he and his family were living. When the crisis was over, he was sent to Viet Nam where he served two terms.
It was fun living in Florida in that he had a boat (didn’t everyone?) and would take his two sons in it most days after he got home. After Viet Nam was over, he resigned from the Air Force and went to live in Minneapolis. During his military years, he acquired many honors and medals for his service. Two awards were the Bronze Star and the Air Force Commendation Medal. He and JoAnne had two sons by then – Christopher David, born in 1963 and Daniel James, born in 1965. There, he worked with a company called Unisys doing intelligence and information security.
He and JoAnne divorced and he was transferred to a company in Las Vegas called E.G.&G. It was later called Bechtel Nevada and then National Securities Technologies. He did computer security for them and retired in 2003.
It was in Las Vegas that he met his second wife, Georgie Ann Wright. They married in 1992 and adopted a daughter, Kapri Elizabeth DeBerry, in 1995. They lived in Henderson, Nevada from 1992 until 2004. They enjoyed living in Las Vegas as they attended many shows and family and friends frequently visited. They also got together occasionally with other ‘62 Red Tag AFA graduates living in Vegas.
After selling their house in Henderson, he and Georgie moved to Georgie’s home town of Des Moines, Iowa. Then In 2008, they moved to Canon City, Nevada where his wife’s sister lives. Bob bowled twice a week in leagues as well as other recreational activities.
As they were not far from Colorado Springs, they attended the AFA football and basketball games a couple of times a year and also attended the football game and other activities for Bob’s 50th Air Force Academy reunion in October of 2012.
Bob was a man of varied talents and interests. He played the guitar, bowled, and played squash, racquetball and golf. He also had avid interests in history, especially the civil war, and science. He was involved in drama during his high school years.

Robert “Bobby” DeBerry is survived by his wife of 22 years, Georgie Ann DeBerry of Cañon City, Colorado, daughter, Kapri Elizabeth DeBerry of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and his sons, Christopher David DeBerry and Daniel James Kovach of Minnesota. He is also survived by his brother Benjamin DeBerry and his wife Frances DeBerry of Blythewood, South Carolina, and his sister-in-law Syble DeBerry of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He is also survived by his nephew, Bryan Blank, and his wife Cheryl Blank of Manning, South Carolina, and his niece Patricia Blank Griffith and her husband David Griffith of Manning, South Carolina. He is also survived by many other loving nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Caroline Gowdy DeBerry and father, Benjamin J. DeBerry, brothers John DeBerry, William DeBerry and James DeBerry, sisters Merle Holman, Elise Chandler, nephew Beau “Sandy” Chandler and infant brother Beau.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home chapel. Burial, with military honors, will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation. It is affiliate of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, aka the River Rats. The group was formed to look after the young ones whose fathers didn’t make it back from Viet Nam. Now they provide much needed scholarship and other support for the kids of fallen aviators. More recently, their energy has expanded to the wounded warriors from the current and recent conflicts. You may find their donation information at www.river-rats.org or call (540) 636-9798.
Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements. www.ecsfuneralhome.com

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