When Kathy Simpson talks about her late husband, Don Berry (‘76, Forestry), there’s a light that rises in her voice, an unmistakable glow of a life deeply loved and profoundly shared. Don was a scientist at heart, and, as Kathy puts it, “He was the funniest, kindest person I ever met. His joy in the natural world was infectious.”
To honor his legacy, with a gift of $36,750 and an additional pledge of $52,500—more than $89,000 in total—Kathy established the Don Berry Forestry Scholarship Endowment and the Don Berry Forestry Scholarship at Cal Poly Humboldt. The fund supports undergraduate students studying what Don loved most: forestry, fire, and rangeland management.
“There was no such thing as a simple hike with Don,” Kathy says, smiling at the memory. “Nature was his wonderland. He spoke about everything with joy.”
Pine cones, soil textures, leaves fluttering in the wind—nothing was ordinary to him. He spoke in genus and species, could make sagebrush sound romantic by calling it by its Latin name artemisia tridentata, and wandered trails tasting unfamiliar leaves just to be sure of where they fit in the world. Birdsongs stopped him mid-sentence. A plant app he once accidentally paid for became his constant companion, “He got his money’s worth,” Kathy says.
Above all, Don was a lifelong learner. He devoured the New York Times and Washington Post every morning, experimented endlessly with new recipes (mostly for year-round barbecuing with fresh herbs), and maintained spreadsheets with a level of focus Kathy describes as “ferocious.” He was punny, brilliant, generous, a neighbor who always showed up, a friend who gave the perfect gift, a man whose kindness was woven into everything he touched.
And so, when Don passed unexpectedly, Kathy found herself holding a grief that was overwhelming, but also a love she felt compelled to carry forward.
“It wasn’t all about what he got from Humboldt,” she says. “It was what I got from it, through him. His joy at sharing the natural world with me became my joy, too. This is my way of saying thank you.”
Don grew up knowing he would have to pay his own way through college. At an early point in his college years, he needed money for textbooks but hadn’t received his financial aid. While waiting, his uncle loaned him the money, which Don immediately repaid, but the moment stayed with him for the rest of his life.
“That experience shaped him,” Kathy says. “He never wanted a young person to feel that kind of stress or uncertainty.”
Don Berry while he was a student at Humboldt.
Later in life, Don created a family education trust so relatives could pursue college or trade school without barriers. His belief in education as a stabilizing, empowering force was unwavering. Supporting Humboldt students, Kathy says, simply felt like a continuation of that belief and something he would have loved.
“If this scholarship lets a student go to a conference, take a class field trip, or buy groceries one month, that matters,” Kathy says. “Sometimes all a student needs is one hand reaching back to help steady them.”
When Don arrived at Humboldt in the 1970s, he was buzzing with energy and curiosity. He initially imagined a career in medicine, but his love for the outdoors nudged him toward forestry. Backpacking trips in high school had already sparked a fascination with the natural world. Humboldt ignited it fully.
While studying at Humboldt, he built friendships that lasted a lifetime. He learned from professors who challenged him. He bought crab from fishermen for 50 cents a pound, calling it “cheap student food.” And he spent countless days in the surrounding forests that would define not only his education, but the way he moved through life.
“He showed me around campus years later,” Kathy says. “It just felt comfortable, like the kind of place where you can form real relationships with professors and classmates. It made perfect sense that he loved it.”
After earning his degree, Don went on to work in soil conservation and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service. His optimism and determination eventually led him to graduate school; he applied only to Stanford, despite being told he’d never get in. Of course, he was accepted.
“That was Don,” Kathy says. “He believed in possibilities.”
That belief is now intertwined with the scholarship that bears his name.
Kathy hopes the fund will support students at all stages of their college journey, not just as freshmen, but as they progress through the demanding upper-division years of forestry and fire courses.
“It can get lonely,” she says. “And expensive. A scholarship is more than money; it’s a reminder that someone is cheering for you.”
She also hopes young women entering non-traditional fields see the scholarship as an affirmation of their place in the industry. Growing up, she wanted to be an air traffic controller but was told, “Women don’t do that.” Supporting women in science feels meaningful and necessary, “I want them to feel the door is open,” she says simply.
Kathy believes making education accessible is extremely important. Investing in the next generation of foresters—people who will care for forests, watersheds, and ecosystems—feels deeply aligned with Don’s values and where he got his start.
“There’s something beautiful about helping someone study the same things Don loved,” she says. “It feels like a way to keep a part of him alive.”
Kathy has already committed to continuing her support for at least five more years, and she’s considering ways to further strengthen the fund in the future.
“This scholarship is about honoring Don,” she says. “But it’s also about hope. About believing that a student out there will find joy in the natural world the way he did, and that they’ll carry that forward. In the end, I just believe in education. When you educate people, the world lives on.”
Join Kathy Simpson in honoring a loved one by funding a Cal Poly Humboldt scholarship endowment in their name. For more information, please contact the Cal Poly Humboldt Foundation at giving@humboldt.edu or call (707) 826-5200.