A memorial service honoring the life of former Arlington Electoral Board member Fred Berghoefer will be held on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Goodwin House Baileys Crossroads.
An engineer by profession, Berghoefer served as a Democratic member of the body for 20 years until his retirement in 2009. He died July 10 after having reached the 100-year mark a month before.
Berghoefer also was active in Arlington Democratic politics before moving to Goodwin House, located close to, but just outside, the county.
In 2009, Berghoefer was succeeded on the Electoral Board by Democrat David Bell. The seat is now held by Democrat Matt Weinstein, the body’s chair.
Upon his retirement from the post, colleague Charlene Bickford said Berghoefer had a knack for detail and a desire to follow matters to their logical conclusions.
“If he saw some anomaly he didn’t like the looks of, he investigated it,” she said then. “He was very particular, very meticulous.”
At that same meeting, Electoral Board colleague Allen Harrison Jr. said Berghoefer’s service was “absolutely great, not only for the county, but for the state.”
“He is very observant on how things are run,” Harrison said, pointing to Berghoefer’s intimate familiarity with voting equipment.
With the exception of a brief window in 1969, Berghoefer and his two predecessors (William O’Connell and Maynard Carlisle) held the seat for a cumulative 70 years. That brief interlude came when William B. Moore was appointed to the seat to succeed O’Connell; Moore, a Democrat, quickly resigned to run for the House of Delegates, but lost in a Republican sweep of Arlington’s four legislative seats that year.
The Dec. 12 celebration of life is open to the public; attendees must be fully vaccinated and wear masks.