I found out early Thursday morning, October 8, 2026, my longtime friend and co-author of our Okefenokee Swamp book Don Berryhill passed away at 93 years old.
I just recently went by to see him last week and his health was not good. I held his hand ... I don’t think that he even knew who I was.
I have known Don since I was 16 and worked under him at RESA in Waycross for a summer job. Many years later, I saw him at a festival where I was selling my Satilla Solitude books.
He told me if I ever did another book, he would like to work with me on it. I knew it had to be on the Okefenokee Swamp.
We got busy and in 2013 self-published 1,000 copies of Okefenokee Swamp - Wild & Natural. They didn't last long.
We did another 1,000 copies and now all of those are gone. UGA Press is looking at maybe publishing it.
I hated seeing Don in the shape he was in with his health and all of the knowledge he once had was gone.
My good friend, Dink NeSmith, told me, “He (Berryhill) was an encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to the Okefenokee Swamp” after I told told him about Don.
He sure was. The swamp was his passion and teaching kids (and adults) was something he truly loved to do.
Don passed away on the exact same day the Okefenokee Swamp Park turned 80 years old.
R.I.P. old friend.
• Wayne Morgan is freelance wildlife photographer and author.
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