MICHAEL BERKELEY: Everything Was in
Place
At
38, Michael Berkeley was soaring: following in the
footsteps of his cousin, John Utendahl, one of the
country's most successful African- American financiers,
Mr. Berkeley recently founded his own brokerage firm,
with 79th-floor offices in the north tower of the World
Trade Center. He had a house in the Hamptons, two young
sons, and had been married for more than 10 years to
Lourdes Perez-Berkeley, a top portfolio analyst who is
also a former Miss Puerto Rico.
But Mr. Berkeley, the son of a homicide detective and
a head nurse, "was a regular guy, the greatest," said a
cousin, Ronald Culberson, who described Mr. Berkeley as
upbeat, warmly generous, welcoming. Another cousin, Ellen
Turner, said that Mr. Berkeley and his wife, "never lost
sight of themselves."
Husband and wife referred to each with a deference and
respect that only seemed to increase during their
marriage, Ms. Turner said. "There was a giddiness about
them - they always joked and smiled around each other.
They protected each other. He didn't create her and she
didn't create him. They complemented each other."
.