Photo by Ken Wells

Bert Berkley (MBA 1950) calls it “the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” Having served in the US Army during World War II for three-and-a-half years, he was offered (and accepted) the chance to go home one day early if he signed up for the Army Reserves. Called back to active duty shortly after graduating from HBS, at the height of the Korean War, Berkley served an additional 17 months, 11 of which were in Korea. As a first lieutenant in the infantry, he led his platoon on night patrols. It was a harrowing experience: “Of the 14 of us who went over together, 11 were killed. Two were wounded, one seriously,” he says. “I was the only one not touched.” Berkley swore to live a life of service if he got home safely.

Now 99 years old, Berkley can say he’s delivered on this promise, having contributed to a number of organizations in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. He’s also made sure to find time for his passion: fly-fishing. It was on a work trip about 50 years ago that he was introduced to the sport. Using weighted line and an artificial fly (mimicking everything from a newly hatched mayfly to a grasshopper), the angler builds momentum with a tik-tok arm motion, the line arcing gracefully back and forth until it is released and the fly alights (temptingly, one hopes). “Fish have a brain the size of a pea, and therefore it ought to be pretty easy for me to outsmart them,” Berkley notes. “But the fish outsmart me, time after time after time.”

Berkley is the third generation to run Tension Envelope, the company (now Tension Corporation) founded by Berkley’s grandfather in 1886. Berkley became CEO in 1962; his son Bill was the fourth generation to step into the role, in 1988, with Berkley staying on as chairman. Based in Kansas City, Tension has pivoted with the market over the years. While the company continues to make envelopes and printed products, it also produces packaging for pharmacies and other e-commerce mailing needs. With 9 manufacturing facilities and more than 20 sales offices in the United States, as well as manufacturing plants in Taiwan and China, Tension’s recent annual sales totaled more than $300 million.

In conversation, Berkley moves easily between Tension’s operations and his management philosophy (“hire high-quality people, consult as needed, and let them make the decisions”) and fishing, with trips to Montana and New Brunswick planned for 2023, when he will celebrate his 100th birthday. He’s quick to characterize the 64-year marriage he shared with his wife, Joan, until she died of cancer in 2012. “Where else could I find a woman who would hike across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for 17 days?” he asks. “Most of the women I knew growing up thought that staying at the Holiday Inn was roughing it. But Joan was different.”

Asked for his secret to longevity, Berkley cites exercise and healthy genes as primary factors. Before the age of modern medicine, his maternal grandmother lived to the age of 92. “As most of us in our 90s understand, a few aches and pains are a small price to pay for being with family and friends,” he observes. And no doubt the ongoing challenge of fly-fishing keeps him young: “It’s the best sport of all,” Berkley asserts, “because you can do it until you’re 100 years old.”

How to: Find a Lifelong Passion

Notice when you forget everything else.
“You can’t think about what’s on your desk while you’re fly-fishing: You have to concentrate completely on placing the fly where you think the fish are. If you’re thinking about something else when the fish hits, you won’t raise your rod quickly enough, and the fish will feel the steel and spit out the hook.”

Does it tick multiple boxes?
“I love to be outside. Fly-fishing gives me something interesting and absorbing to do in some really beautiful places.”

Can you do it with people you enjoy?
Science has demonstrated the positive health benefits of community; each year, Berkley gathers with a close cohort for an annual fly-fishing expedition to Montana. “I’m fortunate to have a strong relationship with my three children and their families,” he says. “And I call a friend almost every day to congratulate them on a birthday, wedding anniversary, or special occasion.”

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