He dreamed bigger than most men dared. But he was more than a dreamer. He made his dreams come true. He believed and lived what he said, "Dreams are born in the heart and in the mind, and only there can they ever die." He made the impossible come true. Because, again, he believed and lived what he said, "The impossible just takes a little longer." Our dear dreamer and doer of the impossible has left us and we cannot measure the void which that leaves in our lives. He died from an apparent reaction to medication on February 19, 2002.
Arthur Edwin Berg was born on April 18, 1962, the third of nine children, in Pooughkeepsie, N.Y. to David C. and Betty Taylor Berg. He graduated from Gunderson High School in San Jose, California. His experiences as an LDS missionary in the Rapid City, South Dakota Mission, and as Assistant to the President, laid the foundation for the exceptional leadership skills and principle-based insight that marked his professional life and his personal conduct in all the years since.
He met his beautiful sweetheart, Dallas Howard, when he was 16 and she was 15. After returning from his mission they prepared to be sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Five weeks before their wedding, at the age of 21, Art broke his neck in an automobile accident and was left a quadriplegic. A year and a half later, on June 18, 1985, Art married his Forever Princess - a match in every way with her adventurous and courageous spirit.
Several years after they were married, Art and Dallas wrote about their experiences in a record intended for their children. They were persuaded to publish it and "Some Miracles Take Time" became a regional best seller. Edited for a broader audience, it will be published by Harper Collins, New York, in March, 2002. Art also wrote "Finding Peace in Troubled Waters." Art traveled more than 200,000 miles a year as a motivational speaker. His audiences included many Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, IBM, and AT&T. Art brought his unconquerable spirit, expressed in the classic poem, "Invictus," to the Baltimore Ravens throughout the 2000 season. Sharing in that same spirit, the Ravens adopted "Invictus" as their team's slogan. After their win in the Super Bowl, the Ravens acknowledged Art's role in their drive to victory by awarding him a Super Bowl ring.
Art has received many awards, including Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992, Utah's Quiet Pioneer in 1993, Consummate Professional Speaker of the year in 1998, and the International Lions' Humanitarian of the Year Award in Washington, D.C. in 1999. He was a world-class wheelchair athlete and enjoyed a variety of sports, including full-contact wheelchair rugby. In 1993 he set a world record by becoming the first quadriplegic, at his level of ability, to race an ultra marathon of 325 miles between Salt Lake City and St. George in seven days.
Art felt that when we're laughing, we're learning, and used his unique humor to carry his message deep into the hearts of his audiences. He achieved the highest earned designation available in his profession, that of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 2000. At the time of his death he was President Elect of the National Speakers Association. But all who knew Art knew that he considered his family his greatest achievement and honor, and that his love for Dallas was truly the wind beneath his wings. Art joked that he kept the local florists in business, making sure that this special woman in his life was reminded daily of his love for her.
Dallas and their children, McKenzie and Dalton, often accompanied Art to speaking engagements, McKenzie taking her place, beginning when she was five years old, on the stage from time to time with her father.
Art particularly enjoyed being a seminary teacher, a Gospel Doctrine teacher, and speaking at Especially for Youth at BYU. Art loved his country and was fiercely patriotic.
Art and Dallas and their children, McKenzie Raeann, 11, Dalton Arthur, 7, and Peyton Marie, 3 months, live in Highland. Art leaves his parents; his grandmother, Ethel Valentine Dinsdale; his sisters Carla Dean (Richard) Bischoff, Martha Elizabeth (Mike) Hankins, Beverly Jean (Wade) Robison, and Gina Lee Berg. His brothers are David Michael (Rita), Paul Marcus (Tiffany), Roger William (Sandra), and Scott Dean; his grandfather, Marcus Simonton Taylor, whom he loved and was so much like, died recently.
Art's family, along with Dallas' family - Ken and Rae Howard, Michael Howard, Scott and Cassie Howard, Todd and Rachel Howard Humphrey-his friends, and the thousands whose lives he has touched and inspired, will miss so much his bright presence and countenance, his never failing example of courage, and his quiet determination. What will we do without him? Where will we find the strength and courage he prompted in our lives? We shall find them in our memories and in our hope through Heavenly Father's plan. INVICTUS!
You may join our family as we celebrate Art's life, and as we share our love for him at a viewing on Friday evening, February 22, 2002 from 6-8 p.m. at Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street. Funeral services will be Saturday, February 23rd, at 11 a.m. at the Highland East Stake Center, at 4679 West 11000 North. An additional viewing will be held Saturday at the Stake Center from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.