zack berry
photo credit // provided
Zach Berry will be remembered on Monday, February 14, as former Chicago resident Jimmy Kays is coordinating Berry’s Celebration of Life: “a chance for all of those lives he touched to get together and remember our Zach,” he said.
The 3-hour event starts at 6 p.m. at Roscoe’s Tavern (3356 N. Halsted Street) in Lakeview.
Berry passed away unexpectedly in his apartment on the South Side of Chicago in October, 2021. He was a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines and very active in its union. Berry would have celebrated his 17th SWAnniversary on January 24th.
“He absolutely loved his job,” said Kays, who credits Berry with getting him his job with Southwest.
“Zach sent me a link (several years ago) for a job being an operations agent for Southwest Airlines. When I read the link I said, “Umm, this says (in) St. Louis, not Chicago?! His response was, ‘Well, I know how much you enjoy visiting your parents when you go back to St. Louis and once you’ve been with the company for a year, you can transfer to Chicago or any other city Southwest flies to.’
“I figured I’d at least fill out (the application).”
Kays did get the job with Southwest and is an operations agent for Southwest Airlines at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
“I lived in Chicago for 10 years and would still be there if this job didn’t take me away,” he said.
Kays moved to Chicago on Sept. 11, 2006 and worked security at Hydrate Nightclub in Lakeview for a year and a half before making the leap to Sidetrack where he worked as security guard as well. After about 18 months, he was promoted to night manager, and he worked at Sidetrack until August 21, 2016.
“I would be lying if I said I don’t miss the job. It’s not an easy job, but the staff (was) the reason I stayed as long as I did. I’m closer to some of them than I am (with) my own family. I don’t miss dealing with nasty drunks, but I do miss my Sidetrack family.”
He also dearly misses Berry. The two were friends for about 17 years.
“All deaths are hard, but no one was expecting this because he wasn’t ill,” Kays said. (The cause of death is still not known.)
“I’m holding the event because Zach was a very well-liked guy and since everything happened so quickly there was no funeral for him. We are flying his mom to Chicago and I’m not sure if other family members are coming or not. But I do know that there will be a lot of Southwest Airlines flight attendants who will be attending our send-off for Zach.
“My only goal (for the event) is to bring all of his loved ones together in one room so we can celebrate his amazing life.”
The last Over The Rainbow fundraiser from Kays was November 9, 2016, at Sidetrack. He moved to St. Louis about six weeks later.
“Since moving to St. Louis I have been so busy with work and taking caring of my parents, so, to be completely honest, I just haven’t had the means to throw an event like prior six (Over The Rainbow) events I had while living in Chicago. Over The Rainbow is something I think about on a daily basis and it’s always been my plan to continue having the events in Chicago. I’d also love to have one in St Louis and take Over The Rainbow on the road so I can touch as many lives as possible. When I dream, I dream big because I’d love for Over The Rainbow to be a global sensation. I must admit that this event has probably been the hardest one to put together. I’m so used to being 100 percent hands-on and I’m a bit nervous that I had to do this from 256 miles away. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.”
The 46-year-old Kays added: “When I found out about Zach’s passing, I reached out to (his parents) to see if I could help in any way and I told them about my previous Over The Rainbow events I created when I lost Gio Cosentino to cancer in 2011. I told them I’d be happy to organize it. After all, he is the person I have to thank for my job of the last five years.”
The Berry Celebration of Life will feature a special performance by Dida Ritz – and no doubt there will be some underwear banter that night.
“That boy loved him some underwear,” Kays said, laughing. “I don’t think he met a pair of underwear that he didn’t like. I would have loved to know how many he had when they cleaned out his place. When his friend told me they threw his underwear away, I told her he would roll over in his grave if he knew that. I joked he would have wanted us to auction them off to some creepy old men into that kind of thing.
“I don’t think I ever saw Zach in a bad mood. He was just a fun guy to be around and it’s still surreal that he’s no longer with us.”
The 3-hour event starts at 6 p.m. at Roscoe’s Tavern (3356 N. Halsted Street) in Lakeview.
Berry passed away unexpectedly in his apartment on the South Side of Chicago in October, 2021. He was a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines and very active in its union. Berry would have celebrated his 17th SWAnniversary on January 24th.
“He absolutely loved his job,” said Kays, who credits Berry with getting him his job with Southwest.
“Zach sent me a link (several years ago) for a job being an operations agent for Southwest Airlines. When I read the link I said, “Umm, this says (in) St. Louis, not Chicago?! His response was, ‘Well, I know how much you enjoy visiting your parents when you go back to St. Louis and once you’ve been with the company for a year, you can transfer to Chicago or any other city Southwest flies to.’
“I figured I’d at least fill out (the application).”
Kays did get the job with Southwest and is an operations agent for Southwest Airlines at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
“I lived in Chicago for 10 years and would still be there if this job didn’t take me away,” he said.
Kays moved to Chicago on Sept. 11, 2006 and worked security at Hydrate Nightclub in Lakeview for a year and a half before making the leap to Sidetrack where he worked as security guard as well. After about 18 months, he was promoted to night manager, and he worked at Sidetrack until August 21, 2016.
“I would be lying if I said I don’t miss the job. It’s not an easy job, but the staff (was) the reason I stayed as long as I did. I’m closer to some of them than I am (with) my own family. I don’t miss dealing with nasty drunks, but I do miss my Sidetrack family.”
He also dearly misses Berry. The two were friends for about 17 years.
“All deaths are hard, but no one was expecting this because he wasn’t ill,” Kays said. (The cause of death is still not known.)
“I’m holding the event because Zach was a very well-liked guy and since everything happened so quickly there was no funeral for him. We are flying his mom to Chicago and I’m not sure if other family members are coming or not. But I do know that there will be a lot of Southwest Airlines flight attendants who will be attending our send-off for Zach.
“My only goal (for the event) is to bring all of his loved ones together in one room so we can celebrate his amazing life.”
The last Over The Rainbow fundraiser from Kays was November 9, 2016, at Sidetrack. He moved to St. Louis about six weeks later.
“Since moving to St. Louis I have been so busy with work and taking caring of my parents, so, to be completely honest, I just haven’t had the means to throw an event like prior six (Over The Rainbow) events I had while living in Chicago. Over The Rainbow is something I think about on a daily basis and it’s always been my plan to continue having the events in Chicago. I’d also love to have one in St Louis and take Over The Rainbow on the road so I can touch as many lives as possible. When I dream, I dream big because I’d love for Over The Rainbow to be a global sensation. I must admit that this event has probably been the hardest one to put together. I’m so used to being 100 percent hands-on and I’m a bit nervous that I had to do this from 256 miles away. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.”
The 46-year-old Kays added: “When I found out about Zach’s passing, I reached out to (his parents) to see if I could help in any way and I told them about my previous Over The Rainbow events I created when I lost Gio Cosentino to cancer in 2011. I told them I’d be happy to organize it. After all, he is the person I have to thank for my job of the last five years.”
The Berry Celebration of Life will feature a special performance by Dida Ritz – and no doubt there will be some underwear banter that night.
“That boy loved him some underwear,” Kays said, laughing. “I don’t think he met a pair of underwear that he didn’t like. I would have loved to know how many he had when they cleaned out his place. When his friend told me they threw his underwear away, I told her he would roll over in his grave if he knew that. I joked he would have wanted us to auction them off to some creepy old men into that kind of thing.
“I don’t think I ever saw Zach in a bad mood. He was just a fun guy to be around and it’s still surreal that he’s no longer with us.”
