Berkeley Cole was one of Karen Blixen's closest friends in Kenya, and part of the same tight circle that included Denys Finch Hatton. He was known for his charm, his generosity, and a genuine love of good conversation and good company — the kind of friend whose visits to the farm Blixen wrote about with real fondness. He and Denys often arrived together, and their friendship gave Blixen's isolated years on the farm some of their lightest, warmest moments.

He died relatively young, but his presence in Out of Africa remains one of its warmest threads — proof that even in a hard, uncertain life, there was room for real friendship.