05/14/2026
It’s so sad to lose one of my funny regular customer. He makes us laugh every time he walks into our store and make our day brighter. Prayer to God for his wonderful souls. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 will miss him forever. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Today our hearts are incredibly heavy at Mineral Wells Center of Life. One of our own passed away today after being hit by a car last night, and the loss is hard to put into words.
He was loud, funny, unforgettable, ornery, and full of life. His laughter filled our hallways and somehow filled our hearts too. He could absolutely be a handful at times. There were days I had to make him leave because he was just too much for everybody all at once. But even then, he always found his way back around because this place was family to him, and he was family to us.
The last time we saw him, he was cutting our hedges with a pocket knife, sweeping our floors, and helping individuals carry their groceries out to their cars. That was just who he was. Even with everything he battled, he still showed up and helped people however he could.
If you knew him, you knew he loved hard, laughed hard, and sometimes raised a little bit of hell too. In the afternoons, you could usually find him working in somebody’s yard trying to make a few dollars, or sitting on a sidewalk somewhere laughing and talking with his friends. And every single time he saw me, he would tell me how beautiful I was and how much he loved me. His hugs were the kind you remember.
He was ornery in the funniest ways. He kept us on our toes constantly, and half the time you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth next. He could make an entire room laugh without even trying. Even on the hard days, he brought life into the building.
He was not perfect. None of us are. Sometimes when he drank too much, he could get out of hand and offend people without meaning to. But underneath all of that was someone genuinely down to earth, full of personality, and deserving of love, dignity, grace, and community.
(His name is Ronnie Berkins Sr.)
That’s what we believe at Center of Life. We love people where they are. Not just the polished parts. Not just the easy parts. All of them.
And he mattered here.
Our hallways are going to feel quieter without his laughter echoing through them. There’s an empty space tonight that cannot be replaced, and we know many in this community are hurting alongside us.
Please keep his loved ones, his friends, and our Center of Life family in your prayers tonight.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” — Matthew 5:4
