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~ Kansas City is mourning the loss of Mayor Richard L. Berkley, who passed away on Wednesday, November 29th at the age of 92. To honor his life and legacy, the City of Kansas City and Port KC are hosting a Celebration of Life ceremony on Thursday, December 7th at noon at Unity Temple on the Country Club Plaza.

The service will be open to the public with seating limited to 1,200 people. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be recorded and added to Kansas City's Channel 2 line-up shortly after. The service will also be streamed live for those who wish to watch from home.

Mayor Berkley was born June 29th, 1931 in Kansas City, Missouri and graduated from Pembroke Country Day School before attending Harvard College and Harvard Graduate Business School. He proudly served as a second lieutenant in the US Navy before returning home to join the family business, Tension Envelope Corp., where he served as treasurer and a member of the Board for more than 60 years.

Mayor Berkley was elected mayor in 1979, 1983 and 1987 and retired in 1991 after serving 22 years on Kansas City's City Council. During his tenure as mayor he created task forces and teams to address issues concerning food and hunger, illegal drugs and AIDS; co-originated the KC Ethics Commission; supported the arts, education, aviation, economic development; created KC Jazz Commission; and provided capital improvements for police stations, zoo expansion, Bartle Hall airport extensions and water/sewer extensions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars through a half cent sales tax for bonds.

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In recognition of his contributions to Kansas City's growth over his lifetime, Mayor Berkley was honored with having Berkley Riverfront Park named after him. His remains will be placed at a memorial site within this park that he loved so much.

Media is welcome to attend the Celebration of Life ceremony but are asked to respect family members by not taking liveshots within the building or blocking entrance/exit ways with their crews when reporting live from outside. A mult box with 24 slots will be available for sound with overflow room available if needed; media can also injest stream into their respective systems through a link provided by organizers. Media members should RSVP with Sherae Honeycutt (Press Secretary) ahead of time indicating how many members are attending and if they plan to livestream event.

The Celebration of Life ceremony is an opportunity for all Kansas Citians to come together in remembrance of Mayor Richard L. Berkley's life-long commitment to making Kansas City a better place for all its citizens.

Filed Under: Government, City

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