FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Jenifer Ragland

Victor Berry could tell countless touching stories about all the people

he’s helped through the Meals on Wheels program, run by Friends in

Service to Humanity and Hoag Memorial Hospital.

There was the New Year’s Day that he drove three delivery routes -- with

at least five stops on each -- because a few of the regular drivers

didn’t show up.

There was the woman who was feeding her meals to her dog because she

didn’t know any better until Berry stepped in to help.

Or the blind woman who occasionally calls on him to take her to the

doctor or the drug store when she would otherwise be stranded.

No matter what the crisis of the day, the spunky, 80-year-old Newport

Beach resident is there to lend a helping hand. His primary good deed is

serving as the relief person for the Meals on Wheels program.

“When someone is sick or can’t make it that day, I do the routes,” Berry

said. “For an older person who comes home from the hospital and can’t get

up and fix themselves food, it’s like a godsend.”

Berry has lived in Newport Beach since 1943 -- three years before he

started his business, Berry’s Sheet Metal, in Costa Mesa. Now he’s

retired. He started volunteering for Friends in Service to Humanity about

three years ago, he said, when a friend suggested he get involved in his

spare time.

“You meet people, and it’s fun helping them,” he said. “My motto is,

‘There by the grace of God go I.’ I could be the one people are helping,

but I’ve always been pretty healthy. I had open-heart surgery at Hoag 25

years ago and I’m still going.”

He takes joy in the simple things, such as a recent cataract surgery that

has left him seeing like an eagle: “I’m so happy I could burst.”

Being a Meals on Wheels volunteer consists of driving 10 to 12 miles and

anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours for each route, depending on how

much time is spent at each residence.

“I don’t just throw the food at them -- I like to stay and talk,” Berry

said.

In fact, he said, that’s the best part about the volunteer job. Since his

wife and two children both passed away, it can get lonely.

“But you have to go on. You can’t just sit and brood about things -- you

have to think positive.”

FOR A GOOD CAUSE features people who do good in the community. To submit

story ideas, call (949) 574-4233 or send e-mail to

dailypilot@latimes.com.

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WHO: Victor Berry

ORGANIZATION: Friends in Service to Humanity and Hoag Hospital

WHAT HE DOES: Delivers food for Meals on Wheels program

GET INVOLVED: (949) 645-8050