While he was teaching, Dean Berry treated his students as equals. He listened to their ideas and was described by more than one former student as "a lot of fun to be around."

He retired from St. Louis Park High School in 1983. After that, he taught writing seminars for businesspeople, law enforcement officials and city government workers.

Berry, 73, of St. Paul and formerly of Orono, had emergency surgery for an aneurysm on May 5, [1995] followed by complications. He died Wednesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul.

Berry and his longtime friend, Howard Williams, a professor at the University of Minnesota, were cofounders of Camp Vincent, a live-in summer reading camp on Lake Minnetonka. They started it in about 1963 and Berry ran it until the early 1970s.

"It really was a great venture," Williams said Friday. "We had about 30 [boys and girls]. The kids made a lot of progress. But, man, I've never worked so hard in my life."

"Dean was great to be with," Williams said. "He was a wonderful listener, as close to being nonjudgmental as anybody ever gets. The great thing was his sense of humor, a sense of whimsy about everything. It was a really therapeutic kind of humor. He could help people see the other side of what looked like a rough patch."

Berry was born in Windom, Minn. He served as an Air Force meteorologist in Alaska during World War II. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, earned a master's degree in educational psychology and did postgraduate work. He taught reading and English in Rochester, Minn., then White Bear Lake. He taught at St. Louis Park High School for more than 20 years. He served on the Mound school board in the 1960s.

John Loegering, a fellow teacher at St. Louis Park, said Berry radiated dignity. "He was one of these great, tall, gray-headed, gentlemanly-looking people," he said. "And he had an unusual voice. He spoke almost in a whisper. It was sort of a magical combination. He had a lot of respect."

Most recently, Berry was a partner with his son in the Berry Writing Group and owned Dean Berry Associates, professional writing consultants. He was a jazz fan and knew many musicians.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Warner; his daughter, Gail Haemmerle, of Menomonie, Wis.; his sons, Stanley, of Orono; Steven, of San Diego; and Matthew, of Menomonie; sisters Hope Hall, of Seattle; Joy Huntley, of Pueblo, Colo.; and Coreen Larson, of Mexico City; brothers Wayne, of El Paso, Texas; Reid, of Elizabethton, Tenn.; and Ron, of Mahtomedi; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. today at the O'Halloran & Murphy Funeral Home, 575 Snelling Av. S., St. Paul. Memorials to the Dean V. Berry Scholarship Fund or the Arthritis Foundation are suggested.