WEST VIRGINIA – Family and friends are continuing to remember the life of a man credited with breathing new life into historical buildings in Southern West Virginia, as well as jump starting an office dedicated to tourism in this part of the mountain state.
Ashby Berkley was 83 when he passed away after a brief illness on Oct. 12. Berkley is credited as being a co-founder of the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, as well as a co-founder of the Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
One tourism leader is describing Berkley as a champion of the industry in Southern West Virginia.
“He loved West Virginia and he loved our industry. He was really early on. I think tourism gets a lot of the respect it deserves now but that’s not always been the case. He was fighting for it long before people took it as a serious industry,” said Lisa Strader, director for Visit Southern West Virginia.
Strader says before there were convention and visitor’s bureaus, there were travel councils for different areas. She says Berkley was heavily involved in making sure tourism groups in Southern West Virginia stayed together during the transition.
“He talked about how this regional concept was something he came up with when he was young and in school. He talked about how he helped create this organization and how he kept it going. He served on the board, he was the interim director. He was very, very involved for a very long time,” said Strader.
Berkley is also credited with creating the former Riverside Inn Restaurant and restoring the former state prison for women in Pence Springs. In 2015, he completed a dream of his which was to purchase the Sweet Springs Resort in Monroe County and restore it.
“He loved history and he loved the challenge of restoration and he was very, very good at it. He would sit and study about what he was doing. He would come to the conclusion it would be restored back to original as humanly possible,” said Berkley’s niece, Arietta DuPre.
Berkley left DuPre in charge of further restoration efforts for Sweet Springs Resort which belongs to a non-profit. Roof repairs have previously been made to the building and she’s hoping to continue what her uncle started. Keeping Berkley’s dream alive, after his passing.
“I’m going to fix the sewer plant and then we’re going to work on getting water in the main building. That’s the two big things we’re going to work on next,” said DuPre.
Berkley will also be remembered as a federal liaison for post war countries, as a hospitality and historic restoration instructor. Berkley also served as the president of the National Innkeeper’s Association for 17 years in addition to teaching hospitality and culinary skills for the West Virginia Department of Education.
Berkley’s obituary can be viewer here.
Copyright 2024 WVVA. All rights reserved.