STOCKBRIDGE — When an architect brought sample stone walls for the foundation of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s new home, Lila Wilde Berle knew they were all wrong.

"Lila looked at these and said, 'That is not Berkshire stone. Those stone walls don't look like they grew out of the ground here in the Berkshires,'" said Laurie Moffatt, the director of the museum and a decades-long friend of Lila.

Lila, a Berkshire “force” who helped save The Mount and oversaw the Norman Rockwell Museum’s move to its current Stockbridge campus, died at home on Easter Sunday, surrounded by family. She was 89.

A Berkshire County native, family and friends say she will be remembered by her contributions to the community and her empowerment of other women, along with the can-do attitude that defined both her public life and her years as a farmer.

When the Rockwell museum moved from its original Main Street "Old Corner House" location to its current campus on the Linwood Estate in 1993, Lila was running her own farm, in addition to her community activities.

Lila's Mountain Farm in Great Barrington was full of field stone pushing through the ground, Moffatt remembered. Lila "cajoled" Perri Petrica, president of Unistress and member of the museum's board, to bring his truck so they could load the stone and bring it to the museum's new location.

Heaving the stone was in pursuit of authenticity for the museum and the community, which is exactly who Lila was, Moffatt said. She gave "her personal time and strength to work to achieve what is a very, very beautiful foundation for the museum."

Lila Wilde Berle committed years of her life to her sheep flock, said her daughter, Mary Berle. That meant taking her favorite sheep from across Berkshire County and breeding them to make a resilient flock built for the Berkshires.

Lila wore many hats, her daughter Mary Berle said, including serving for a decade on the Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Board, fighting to preserve wild land, helping The Mount — Edith Wharton's home — and the Norman Rockwell Museum continue to serve their respective purposes and committing resources to philanthropy.

As a descendant of the Vanderbilt family, she was owner of the Elm Court Estate in Stockbridge, which she sold in 1999 and has just been approved for redevelopment as a resort and condominium project.

But above all else, Lila was a farmer, Mary said.

Lila, the daughter of Col. H. George Wilde and Marjorie Lila Field Wilde was born March 5, 1937. She grew up in the Berkshires on High Lawn Farm in Lee, Mary said.

She had a horse, one she rode to school. This was where she fostered her adventurous spirit she carried throughout her life.

The farm is also where she was courted by Peter A.A. Berle, a fierce environmentalist who, among other positions, served as the president of the National Audubon Society. Peter passed away in 2007, after which their standard poodle, Butter, kept Lila company, Mary said.

Lila graduated from Foxhollow School, then from Smith College in 1958. There she studied zoology and botany, Mary said. Lila and Peter married in 1960, and the two spent a few years living in the Philippines, where Peter's Air Force assignment was.

"They both always said that that was really foundational because they were away from family and community," Mary said. "They had an incredible adventure there."

Once the couple returned to the Berkshires, Lila committed herself to the community, supporting the people around her and fighting for what she believed, such as preserving tracts of land and the gateways to Stockbridge, Mary said.

Lila Wilde Berle committed herself to the land and her community. While she served on the board for the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Berkshire Hills School District, she spent much of her time on her farm.

That kindness spread to everyone, even newcomers, said the Rev. Jane Tillman, the priest associate at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Tillman met Lila while Lila served as the senior warden of the vestry, which sets the church's mission.

"It was wonderful to have someone like Lila take an interest in me, mentor me, support me, encourage me and challenge me," Tillman said. Lila challenged Tillman, she said, and she "helped me develop some clarity around my thinking and my voice."

Lila was "instrumental" in the process Tillman went through to become a priest, she said.

Lila's support also helped Moffatt become the director she is now, she said.

"I had great energy and enthusiasm and really an infectious desire to learn and work hard and partner with her, but she set the trajectory of my life," Moffatt said.

Even while Lila served for a decade as the president of the board for the Norman Rockwell Museum, her farm was where she spent most of her energy, something that was apparent when documents needed to be signed.

"I would drive to her farm, and I would hail her down in the field on her tractor, and she'd hop down, and she'd sign a document and [be] off back to work," Moffatt said.

Lila Wilde Berle was proud to be an early sneaker adopter, wearing them in the 1970s, her daughter Mary said. "She was always in work clothes and always had pockets. She did not carry a pocketbook and she freed up a lot of women to not feel like they had to."

Lila's Mountain Farm, taking up 400 acres across South County, is the home to Lila's flock of sheep, which was made of her favorite sheep from across Berkshire County, Mary said.

Mary is the farm's current steward after Lila could no longer run it about five years ago.

Mary Berle is managing Lila's Mountain Farm (founded by her mother, Lila) in Great Barrington. The farm raises sheep fed with grass grown on the farm.

Lila also helped stop development threatening The Mount and quietly donated to various local institutions in the county.

"Lila gave so much to this community that we all can feel so grateful for," Moffatt said.

Lila is survived by her four children — Dolf, Mary, Beatrice and Bob — 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Peter, and sisters, Nancy and Alice.

She was predeceased by her parents, her brother, William, and her sister Mary.

A memorial service for Lila will be held on May 30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Stockbridge.