As “Dust in the Wind” played softly, mourners gathered Thursday to salute the short life of Berkeley, the Nash Square squirrel sculpture carved from a landmark oak tree — a symbol of steadfastness in stormy times.
For six years, Berkeley sat perched on a concrete pedestal opposite City Hall, chewing an oversized acorn in the shade.
His upturned ears and jaunty tail represented all that remained of a 90-foot willow oak that stood at the southern end of the park for more than a century, growing to be what many called the widest tree downtown…