Dave “Big Guy” Berman, 76, of Scottsdale, AZ, passed away on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, after an extended battle against Parkinson’s Disease.

Dave was born on July 15, 1946, one season after the Cubs made it to the World Series, to Milton & Rebecca Berman in Chicago. After graduating from Grayslake High School in 1964, he went on to study at his beloved Arizona State University, where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. It is also where he began the rest of his life, after meeting the love of his life at Manzanita Hall.

It is then Dave and his wife Judi got married, started a family, and their journey began. With his degrees in education, he started his career as a 6th Grade teacher in the Mesa school district at Roosevelt Elementary. A career that spanned more than a dozen years. He absolutely adored teaching and helping guide his students. Teaching was a true passion of his, and a career that fit his caring personality. It couldn’t pay the bills though as the family he had always envisioned was forming with the birth of his three daughters, Leslie, Michelle and Stacey, and his son, Boomer. He entered the field of sports promotion where he successfully started Valley Events Inc. From 1977 to the early 2000’s, coordinating race events across the state, Valley Events was a startup that focused on being part of the community. The local 5Ks and duathlons created jobs, brought The Valley together and allowed for his passion to have a charitable impact in Scottsdale, a place he helped grow from a western town to a bustling city.

He always had his eyes on big, fun, well organized events that would help out the community. From sponsoring local but very famous 80’s Valley Events softball teams, to little league and little miss softball, to the Boys & Girls Club of Scottsdale to the Scottsdale QB Club, Dave was always the guy, the Big Guy with an oversized heart (both figuratively and literally).

The list is long but some of his most impactful achievements were The Dream Games, ASU’s Freshmen Football Welcome banquets, the Scottsdale Player of the Week picks, the golf tournaments and something he was probably most proud of, the formation of the Scottsdale Sports Hall of Fame, which graces the mezzanine of Scottsdale Stadium.

Big Guy was a proud ASU Sun Devil and an avid Chicago Cubs and Bears fan. He got to witness the Bears win the Super Bowl, ASU win a Rose Bowl (That’s a bowl game UofA fans) and waited patiently for the next year to come, 70 years after his birth, to see the Cubs Win a World Series. He worked with mayors, was awarded by governors, supported police and first responders, met his sports heroes like Ernie Banks, Harmon Killebrew and Dick Butkus. Frank Kush knew him by name, and he could rarely go out in Arizona without running into someone he knew…or at least pretending as politely and professionally that he knew.

With all the love he had for his teams, his community and his many friends, Dave most adored his wife of 54 years, his four kids and his seven grandchildren, his family. His heart was big enough to go around and he, along with Judi consistently by his side (but also leading the way), raised four beautifully balanced, successful, independent children. He was very proud of what they had become of themselves and that he was a part of their history. He loved talking about his kids and the lives they created. From personal and professional achievements to marriages and of course the births of his seven grandkids. He loved his family.

The love Dave had for all that he touched was extraordinary and generous, and as much as his oversized heart could give. He will be deeply missed.

Dave was predeceased by his parents, Milton and Rebecca Berman and his sister Trudy Kaplan. He is survived by his wife Judi, sister Sandy Berman, brother Jeff (Lynn) Berman, brother-in-law Al Kaplan, his adoring nieces and nephews, his four children, Leslie (Stephen) Ticktin, Michelle (Dean) Levitin, Stacey Webb, Boomer Berman, and his seven grandchildren, Jared, Jake, Chloe, Sophia, Ethan, Brooke, and Miles.

Dave “Big Guy” Berman’s celebration of life will take place at Scottsdale Stadium on Sunday, June 11 at 1:05pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to:

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale (BGCS)

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