Robert (Bob) Berke, a Pacific Palisades resident and prominent attorney who tackled life with passion and intelligence, passed away on November 28 from meningoencephalitis, complicated by pneumonia. He was 61. Born in the Bronx, New York, on March 18, 1948, Bob came to California in 1954. He attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, where he was a debater and president of the senior class. At Pomona College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Bob was valedictorian and organized anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. He graduated from UCLA Law School in 1973 and began his legal career as a deputy public defender. After eight years, Bob became a staff attorney with the Center for Law in the Public Interest. He then joined the Los Angeles firm of Overland, Berke, Wesley, Gits, Randolph and Levanas as a managing and litigation partner. After founding his own law office in 1991, Bob continued his brilliant professional career as a criminal law and civil rights lawyer. He also served as president of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ) and as president of the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club. In that latter role, Bob led efforts to open a Democratic headquarters office in Santa Monica in 2008, which he proudly boasted made hundreds of thousands of calls on behalf of Barack Obama and the state initiatives’more than any other headquarters in Southern California; organized two bus trips to the crucial state of Nevada; and hosted events featuring Senator Barbara Boxer, political commentator Robert Scheer and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley. He was co-chair of the club’s annual Anne Froehlich Awards Dinner for Political Courage, which began in 2006. An active member of Death Penalty Focus, Bob was a staunch fighter for human rights and dignity, and a tireless advocate for the downtrodden. He was an inspiration to some, a mentor to many, and a beloved friend to even more. He devoted his career and the better part of his life to battling the government on behalf of those whose rights had been trammeled by the system. Many people, including those who called him father, son, uncle and brother, will greatly miss Bob Berke. He is survived by his mother, Sylvia Berke (husband Emanuel Forster) of Pacific Palisades, and by his son, Chad Berke, of West Hills. Memorial services will be held Sunday, December 6, at 1 p.m. at Kehillat Israel Synagogue, 16019 Sunset Blvd., in Pacific Palisades. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob’s memory may be made to Death Penalty Focus, the ACLU or the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club (P.O. Box 343, zip code 90272).
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
