Paul was requested by the military to share his specialized training with new recruits. He reenlisted as a Naval Reservist in 2001. In April 2005, Paul was deployed to Bahrain. From Bahrain, he had many missions to various countries, including Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Oman.Paul was to be honored in January 2006 with the prestigious “Copernicus” award. This award is bestowed on only 26 military personnel each year who contribute to naval warfare in areas of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence; informational systems or information warfare. Paul’s initiative earned him the “Bluejacket of the Quarter” award. He was also nominated for the “Bluejacket of the Year” award.Paul was preceded in death by his mother, Kathleen Harthorn, and his beloved lizard “Tobias.” He is survived by his son Zeke Berkley, daughter Becky Berkley, father John Berkley (wife Irene) of Oviedo, Florida, sister Colleen Thompson and nephew John Thompson of Santa Paula, and his niece Michelle Thompson of Oxnard.Funeral arrangements are pending. A memorial service will be held in Santa Paula, with the date to be announced.
Obituary
December 30, 2005
Obituaries
Paul Berkley
Paul Berkley passed away on December 18, 2005 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Paul was born on November 30, 1959 in Morocco, North Africa on the Air Force base where his father was stationed.Paul had just returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East. He was looking forward to spending the holidays with his family. He enjoyed weekend trips with his family to see various historical landmarks on the east coast.Paul grew up in Santa Paula and graduated from Santa Paula High School in 1978. After high school, Paul enlisted in the Navy. He served for four years, including two West-Pac tours to the Philippines.Paul married Nancy Weaverling in 1981. Together, they had two wonderful children, Ezekiel (Zeke) and Rebecca (Becky). Paul was a very proud father, taking pride in each one of his children’s accomplishments.Paul was an avid fisherman and enjoyed deep-sea fishing. He enjoyed computers, and eventually utilized them in his career choices, both in the military and as a civilian. Paul had an uncanny knack of being able to take a complicated computer problem and break it down to a novice level to be understood by all.Paul’s sense of humor was incredible. At one point, he had a comedy routine which was enjoyed by many.
