A favorite author of mine, Mark Twain, once uttered a quote that rings truer — and louder, as I get older — each year: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
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Bernadine’s Berry Crops Program at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center was highly productive and visible both nationally and internationally.
She was a member of several professional societies and a recipient of multiple prestigious awards. She was revered and loved by her peers, associates, and stakeholders for her leadership qualities, contributions to the berry industry, and her nurturing and caring personality. Dr. Strik’s legacy not only continues through her research and mentorship but also in many hearts she touched in her short but impactful life. Let's hear from some of them.
Photo by Ted Mackey, USDA-ARS
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“I had the privilege of working with her as a research assistant from 2013 to her retirement at the end of 2021. Bernadine always loved to get her hands dirty and participate in field work, and you can tell by the smile on her face that she truly enjoyed that part of the research. She was an inspiration as a mentor and researcher, and role model as a mother and friend.”
Amanda Davis, Senior Faculty Research Assistant II — Berry Crops, OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center
Photo by Amanda Davis, OSU
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“I started working with Bernadine 20 years ago, and together, we published nearly 40 scientific journal articles – and counting – on production and physiology of berry crops. Bernadine was a titan in the berry industry and one of the all-time leading researchers on developing better management practices for small fruit crops, including blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, and hardy kiwi. She had more knowledge about each of these crops than any person I ever met. Bernadine was also extremely generous, providing tremendous help and support to me and many of my students over the years. One of my former students, David Leon, said that just last weekend he was telling his colleagues how wonderful she was and how much she inspired him. Another former student, Joy Yang, said that she will miss her knowledge, hard work, kindness, and humor. Bernadine was truly inspiring and encouraged us to work harder and achieve more in our research than we ever could otherwise.
David Bryla, USDA Research Horticulturist in Corvallis, OR, home to OSU
Photo by Amanda Davis, OSU
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“Bernadine was an amazing person and a tremendous source of inspiration for me as well as others that had the fortune to meet her. She was incredibly knowledgeable, spirited, supportive of all those around her, and created an internationally renowned program dedicated towards advancing berry horticulture and production. She knew how to be serious but was also the life of a party. Her passing is a great loss to the berry community. However, her life was exemplary in every regard, and we should continue to draw inspiration from this outstanding woman.”
Lisa Wasko DeVetter, Associate Professor, Small Fruit Horticulture, Washington State University
Photo by Amanda Davis, OSU
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“Dr. Bernadine Strik was a great collaborator, she worked closely with the berry breeder Dr. (Chad) Finn at the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research Unit in a cooperative USDA-ARS/OSU berry breeding program. This team effort was very productive and benefited the industry as there was information on how best to grow each cultivar at the time it was released (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries). Bernadine pioneered work on organic production of berry crops, especially blueberries. Her research on blueberries has changed how blueberries are grown in the Pacific Northwest and beyond (planting density, fertilization, mulching, pruning). Bernadine was recognized worldwide for her expertise in berry horticulture, and she traveled widely to provide information on how to grow berry crops at scientific meetings but also for growers. Bernadine’s enthusiasm extended to her mentoring of graduate students and many of those students developed a similar enthusiasm for their work. She organized several international and national meetings and when she ran a meeting, one quickly learned that you didn’t speak beyond your allotted time. She will be greatly missed by many.”
Robert Martin, USDA-ARS Research Plant Pathologist
Photo by Amanda Davis, OSU
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“There was never anyone that I met that had the understanding of small fruit plants and their physiology and cultural management that Dr. Bernadine Strik commanded. She was the best. What an impact she made, and a tremendous life she lived.”
John Clark, University of Arkansas Emeritus
High praise from Clark, who spent 42 years working at the University of Arkansas and developed many popular berry varieties himself. He continues to write a column for American Fruit Grower and GrowingProduce.com, and wrote one dedicated to Bernadine upon her retirement headlined “Career Well Done: Taking a Moment to Honor a Berry Genius.” He noted she and Dr. Chad Finn, a longtime USDA Berry Researcher/Breeder made an outstanding team, and that after Finn’s tragic death she later received the Chad Finn Award from the American Pomological Society. Clark closes the column: “Dr. Bernadine Strik, the ultimate berry professional, friend, and legend.”
There’s more to it than I have room for here, and I encourage you to read it. But my point is, there are people I have talked to all over this great nation — and world for that matter — that I miss even though some I never met face to face. A couple I did chat with via video, thanks to today’s stupendous tech, and that makes it all the more poignant.
We can’t be everywhere, true, but fortunately I’ve been able to have contact with many of you at industry events. But I always missed Bernadine Strik for some reason. A dynamo at Oregon State University (OSU) who wore a number of hats in her career: breeder, researcher, teacher, and from the comments I received from her colleagues, she did all of them well.
Despite the fact I interviewed her several times through the years for various stories, we never did meet face to face. And now, because of the nature of my job, I’ve learned quite a bit about her since her death, and that makes me regret never meeting her all the more.
When I learned of Bernadine’s passing back in April, her colleagues in the Pacific Northwest sent in so many photos, I prepared a slideshow tribute on GrowingProduce.com and solicited comments (see slideshow above). They were overwhelming in the love and deep respect they held for Bernadine, who clearly loved her job.
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Besides the photos and heartfelt tribute, David Bryla, USDA Research Horticulturist in Corvallis, OR, home to OSU, sent me an interview Bernadine did in 2015 for the OSU Sesquicentennial Oral History Project marking the university’s 150th anniversary.
Interestingly enough, Bernadine, despite having two parents with horticultural backgrounds, didn’t intend to enter the field when she enrolled as a 17-year-old freshman at University of Victoria, in British Columbia, where she was raised. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, so she took a wide range of classes. One changed her life, and she detailed the experience in the interview, a fascinating peek into how her professional life blossomed. She understood the impact one special teacher could have.
“I took a botany class that just turned my crank. And it did because the professor was the most inspiring professor, and Dr. (David) Ballantyne is now retired, we still keep in touch. And he got me so excited about plants and research, and obviously more than the practical, because at home I had the practical side,” Bernadine related.
“But he got me excited about whole plant physiology and plant structure and function, and he actually offered me an opportunity to do an undergraduate thesis, because he thought I had potential for doing research. And he was a hobby scientist too, breeding rhododendron, and he still does in his backyard. And he was the one who encouraged me to really switch my focus to plants. He basically injected me with that passion.”
She took that passion and carried it with her throughout her life. John Clark, our senior berry columnist, sent me the following comment upon Bernadine’s passing.
“There was never anyone I met that had the understanding of small fruit plants and their physiology and cultural management that Dr. Bernadine Strik commanded. She was the best. What an impact she made, and a tremendous life she lived.”
I would have liked to have witnessed that passion in person, and I always thought “Next time.” My advice: Pick up the phone and reach out. Make sure “next time” happens.
115Nevers Are Hard: Unexpected Death of Colleague Puts Things in Perspective
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David Eddy is the editor of Meister Media Worldwide's American Fruit Grower®magazine. See all author stories here.
June 27, 2023 
