Dylan W. Berner, 56, of Seekonk, died peacefully Tuesday, Dec. 30, after many years of living with Huntington’s Disease.
He was born on Oct. 28, 1969 in Salem. The son of David Berner of Marblehead and the late Joan Berner. He spent his school years living on Front Street in Marblehead. He graduated from the Art Institute in Boston.
A creative artist all his life, he most enjoyed drawing and painting his special imaginations. As art director at Tower Records he designed spectacular window displays and there wasn’t a window display he couldn’t create. He was a cinephile whose deep knowledge of film could be relied upon to tell you who directed a movie. He loved to travel and did so extensively and was equally happy spending a day hiking in local woods or sitting on the beach. An expansive lover of music who never found a genre he didn’t find listenable. He was an avid collector of comic books and graphic novels and expertly executed flawless illustrations. He was an adventurer who would try pretty much anything even if it was a struggle.
He biked, paddle boarded, kayaked, cross-country skied and swam for as long as he could. As each of these abilities was taken from him, he rarely complained. He knew from an early age that he might inherit Huntington’s Disease and that life could get difficult for him. While there were times he despaired and raged, for most of his days he was grateful for the beautiful things’ life offered in the moment.
Dylan was quirky and weird and so very much his own person. He had a wonderful sense of humor. His openness, his creativity, his ability to be silly, to be loving, to drop his guard and just Being completely honest and human is what made him who he was. A wonderful son, friend and partner who made the lives of the people he knew better for having known him. Dylan is survived by the love of his life Rachel Bates with whom he celebrated 30 plus years together, his father David Berner, and many longtime friends especially Justin Harris.
He is pre-deceased by his mother and his wonderful cat Monkey. A private memorial will be held by the family. He will be loved and missed every day.
