LONDON, ONT. -- In 1996 Coralie Waschkowski of London needed to get away and have a new beginning.
She chose a destination that would end up changing her life altogether.
After moving to Treasure Beach, Jamaica, she moved next door to a kind woman named Berry Berenson-Perkins. She was well know to many in New York and L.A., but Waschkowski didn’t know about her.
“She mothered me, “ said Waschkowski. “She nurtured me when I needed nurturing, helped me through my pregnancy, rubbed my belly everyday.”
Berenson-Perkins ended up being the godmother to Waschkowski’s daughter Clara James. It was a close bond that ended tragically when on September 11 of 2001, Berenson-Perkins died. She was on the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Centre.
“I was devastated,” said Waschkowski. While Waschkowski was trying to start over again, she discovered who her friend was as well. Berenson-Perkins was the widow of well know actor Anthony Perkins and the star of the movie Psycho. He died from AIDS in 1992.
But Berenson Perkins was also know in the fashion industry as a model and later a photographer. “She was a photographer for Life Magazine where she's done covers from anyone from Anjelica Husten, to Cybil Shepherd to Meryl Streep,” said Waschkowski.
“She loved her life in New York as much as she loved her life in L.A.”
Since the tragedy, every September 11, Waschkowski pauses and takes time to think of her friend while reflecting on her own life. Waschkowski says, “If I were to sum Berry Berenson-Perkins up I would say that she taught me to give fully, love fully and that kindness matters.”
