Melissa Anne Berk Obituary
Melissa Anne Berk (born Seitz) passed on, surrounded by her family in her home on May 28, 2023 after a hard fought battle with neuroendocrine tumors.
Melissa was born on the 4th of July. Every birthday, her family joked the fireworks they watched from Fort Dix were just for her, prompting her brother to ask where were his. The gleeful grin on Melissa’s face became a predecessor to her need to celebrate everything: from new puppies, to weddings, to just getting by. Melissa, along with her brother Carl A Seitz Sr., frequently found themselves in trouble with their parents and grandparents, but Melissa’s quick wit allowed her to skate free more often than not. She was the daughter of Carl W Seitz III and Patricia Seitz and raised with helping hands and love from Marianne Seitz, her Step-Mother. Melissa was raised with a diverse set of passions ranging from fishing to fashion to perfectly priced oddities at flea markets. In addition to her love of finding a good deal, Melissa knew how to make a great deal of impact on everyone. She grew into a 3-sport athlete in high school, excelling in tennis, cheerleading, and softball, as well becoming a coxswain of Drexel University’s rowing team. Although she was the small size they needed, her true power was her louder than a megaphone voice.
Shortly after Melissa’s time at Drexel, she attended a Microsoft Office demonstration and met a man by a balcony. Having recognized her as a woman who went to Drexel, he asked to sit with her for the remainder of the demonstration. The two went on their first date less than a week later. Before two years had passed, in November 1990, Melissa and Lee Jeffrey Berk were wed. They spent the four years after they were wed and before children, traveling, unintentionally acquiring a dog from a traded Phillies player, and making their house into the loving home it still is today. Melissa and Lee brought their first born, Alexander (Alex) Barry Berk, into the world in November 1994. Melissa bestowed her love of hockey onto him and, she served on the board for Upper Dublin’s club hockey team from Alex’s 6th grade year to many years after both her children graduated. She gifted her daughter, Caitlyn Inez Berk, born February 1997, with her love of the Eagles and cooking in too large a quantity for any gathering.
Melissa had a talent for making friends, and making those friends feel like lottery winners. Melissa understood that some gifts are made to fill needs, but the best gifts are things you never expect to receive. She was in tune with the healing powers of a lunch out with friends, or days out with her mother-in-law Shelia Berk. At Nick’s Pizza in Dresher, it felt like Norm walking in on an episode of Cheers when Melissa and her neighborhood girlfriends would step in for a quick, or more likely a not so quick, slice. Melissa had a power of connection far greater than just for those she called friends. She could make a leaf feel greener just by talking to it.
Somehow finding time for everything, Melissa was able to concurrently be a small business owner, cookie mom for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, a hockey mom for up to the 3 hockey teams Alex played on at one time, a domestic goddess, and volunteer for any offered opportunity. Through her business, By Invitation Only, she collected lifelong customers as she did silly socks. From the Grand Canyon, to Rome, to a college tour of the University of Miami, she could never leave Dresher without running into someone she knew. The only thing that could compete with Melissa’s sense of humor were her famous chocolate chip cookies. Dubbed “Melissa Cookies,” they could only be made in minimum quantities of twelve dozen, and seldom was that enough. The secret ingredient was, of course, lots of love and care…and many sticks of butter.
Melissa was a puppy whisperer, saying hello to any dog she passed no matter where she was and knew many neighbors only by their dog’s names. Melissa was sure to include friends as family and her children’s relationships were elevated to the highest level. When Alex brought home her daughter in law Genevieve, she was immediately added to the rotation of silly pictures, care packages, and group chats as if she had always been a Berk. She also continued to memorize the life stories of all of her children’s friends. More often than Melissa or Mrs. Berk, she was “Mama Berk” to the friends of her children.
Everyone has a Melissa story, and we will never be tired of hearing them. Melissa is survived by her loving husband Lee, children Alex (Genevieve) and Caitlyn, parents Carl and Marianne Seitz, and Patricia Seitz, mother-in-law Sheila Berk, brother Carl Seitz (Patricia), puppy Oskar D. Dog.
The funeral service will be held at Jarrettown United Methodist Church on Friday, June 2nd at 11 am, with a viewing beginning at 9 am. A luncheon will follow. The Berk family will open the house to family and friends to share memories on Friday and Saturday evening starting at 7 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donation can be made on behalf of Melissa to an animal shelter of your choice, the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (https://netrf.org), or any other charity you feel honors her legacy.
