Dave Brazelton recalls the first time he met Bernadine Strik.

It was 30 years ago, and Brazelton, of Fall Creek Farm and Nursery in Lowell, Ore., said crews were harvesting blueberries when they noticed sections of one field where the bushes had developed fewer buds, meaning less fruit.

Brazelton contacted Strik for help. She had recently taken over the berry research program at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center.

She ran several tests and quickly determined there was a boron deficiency, which can stifle plants’ reproductive growth. They crafted a new fertility program to address the problem.

In the process, he said they became close friends.

“Bernadine had an admirable way to carefully listen to growers, and hear the issues and questions they were dealing with,” Brazelton said. “She had just a tremendous ability to connect with growers in the industry.”

Strik died April 14 at the age of 60 following a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her husband, Neil Bell; daughters Shannon and Nicole Bell; and parents Gerald and Christine Strik.

Friends, family and colleagues remember Strik as a prolific scientist, caring wife and mother, exceptional baker and lover of the outdoors. Her work with OSU Extension Service was crucial to the success of the Northwest berry industry, earning her the nickname of “berry goddess.”

Legacy of research

Strik joined OSU in 1987 as an assistant professor, specializing in small berry crops and winegrapes.

By 1992, she had taken over the berry program at NWREC, a 160-acre research farm about 20 miles south of Portland. Her experiments aimed to pinpoint best management practices and new fruit varieties.

Among her scientific breakthroughs, Strik was able to help blueberry growers increase production by planting rows slightly closer together, and by adopting trellises to improve the efficiency of machine harvesters.

A 14-year study of organic blueberry production also led to a boost in organic acreage across the state, from 2% in 2006 to 20% in 2020.

Darcy Kochis, administrator and marketing director of the Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission, said Strik left an indelible impact on the industry, while serving as a role model for women in science and agriculture.

“She was a force,” Kochis said. “Across the board, she set a very high standard for expectations, quality and continued research to strive to have the best product that we can have, coming out of the Northwest.”

Bud Weiser, former dean of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was head of the horticulture department when Strik was hired.

“What was unique about her is that she was really kind of a Swiss army knife of talents and interests,” Weiser said. “She could do it all, whether it was teaching students or doing science with berry crop plants, working directly with growers.”

Work-life balance

Though she was deeply passionate about her work, Strik’s family says she took pride in achieving a work-life balance.

Shannon Bell, Strik’s oldest daughter, said they often traveled together for hiking and camping trips across the state. She and her sister, Nicole, would also tag along as kids picking berries at the North Willamette station.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

A celebration of life for Bernadine Strik will start at 2 p.m. April 25 at the CH2M Alumni Center at Oregon State University in Corvallis, 725 SW 26th St.

“We would go and pick berries all day long until our stomachs hurt,” Bell said.

Strik’s husband, Neil Bell, also works at NWREC and oversees the master gardener program in Marion and Polk counties. The couple married in 1994.

Berries will forever be a reminder of her mom, Bell said. She would come home from work with her car filled with flats of berries, which they would make into pies and jams.

Later, when Bell would return home from college, she said her mom always had strawberry daiquiris ready to sip outside in the sun.

“She was incredibly thoughtful as a mom,” Bell said. “She would always think of little things, sending me care packages when I was away, or just calling to say that she loved me.”

Bell said she and her sister gained an appreciation for the environment from their parents. Shannon, 26, earned a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University last year; and Nicole, 23, will graduate this year from OSU with a master’s in horticulture.

“My mom, despite all of her own accomplishments, was most proud of her two daughters,” Bell said. “She showed us that all of the time.”

A great mentor

Industry professionals regarded Strik as a respected mentor they could lean on for advice.

T.J. Hafner, agronomy manager for AgriCare in Jefferson, Ore., was a student at OSU when he took a course on berry and grape physiology taught by Strik.

“She was very engaged with her students, and passionate about what she was teaching,” Hafner said.

After graduating in 2006 with a degree in crop and soil science, Hafner went to work as an agronomist. He and Strik kept in touch, and she would assist him in addressing growers’ problems.

“Having someone of her caliber to call on was valuable for me on my career path,” Hafner said.

Scott Lukas, who joined OSU Extension in 2016, took over Strik’s berry research at NWREC after she retired last year.

From the beginning, Lukas said Strik was a key figure on his faculty mentor committee. He described her as friendly, approachable and able to communicate complex information.

“She just had so much information that she could relay eloquently, and in a way that made sense,” Lukas said.

Strik was a foundational part of making the Pacific Northwest a premiere berry-growing region, Lukas said.

“She was someone who so many people could look up to,” he said. “I think she changed the course of the industry and horticulture from that front as well — just being that role model and positive influence.”