Reid Berg, Mary Janice 1927 - 2014
REID, BERG, PULTZ, OWEN, POPPENHAGEN, GILBERT, BARTH, BROWN, HOVDE, LEWIS, COTTRELL, OLSON, MAYER, SLOAN
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 9/20/2014 at 10:19:46
Mary Janice “Jan” Reid Berg age 87, of Decorah, Iowa, died Thursday morning, September 18, 2014 at Aase Haugen Home in Decorah.
Jan's wishes were to donate her body to the Department of Anatomy in the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, September 27, 2014 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah with Rev. Richard Simon Hanson officiating. Private Family inurnment will be at a later date in Phelps Cemetery in Decorah.
Visitation begins on Saturday at 10:00 A.M., one hour before services, at the church.
Mary Janice (Jan) Reid Berg was born in Davenport, Iowa on May 11, 1927 to Margaret Pultz Reid and Hale C. Reid. She graduated from high school in Dubuque, Iowa, where she played in the band and on the tennis team. It was in Dubuque that she met her husband of 65 years, Warren Berg, who was training in the V-12 program at the University of Dubuque during World War II.
They were married on December 28, 1946, in Dubuque and moved soon after to Decorah, where both were enrolled in Luther College. Jan sang in Nordic Choir and played tympanis in the band, but shifted to full-time motherhood in 1948 with the birth of their first child. In 1952 she was diagnosed with polio during the epidemic of that period and was paralyzed from the neck down and told she would be confined to a wheel chair for the rest of her life. After grueling physical therapy and with pure determination and multiple surgeries, she was able to walk again with braces and crutches.
In 1958 she was named Iowa Polio Mother of the Year by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an honor that she passed on to her husband saying, “He made me keep going. I couldn’t have done it without him.” In spite of the surgeries and pain she endured most of her life, Jan Berg participated in numerous civic and church activities and was a scout leader and member of P.E.O. She and Warren played golf, attended sporting events, and managed the Vanberia store for a time. She was also the radio spokesperson for McNeil’s women’s clothing store in the 1960’s.
For over two decades, Jan and Warren were the directors of Luther’s summer Scandinavian Institute for teachers from the five Scandinavian countries. For this service they were awarded the St. Olaf Medal from His Majesty, Olav King of Norway. In 1966-67 and again in 1988-89 Jan and Warren lived in Malta where he held a Fulbright professorship, and she entertained dignitaries and visitors from many nations. She loved art and began painting in the 1970’s, winning several awards, also getting involved with the Very Special Arts organization and festival.
Jan was awarded the first “Spirit of Luther Award” in 2002, a testament to her commitment to the ideals of Luther College and especially for her sponsorship of many foreign students over the years. She will also be remembered for her courage and tenacity, for her gracious entertaining, and for her staunch support of her family.
She is survived by her children: Paula Berg Owen and husband Ben of San Antonio, Texas, Kristin Gilbert of Boulder, Colorado, Kari Berg and husband Brent Poppenhagen of Burnsville, Minnesota, Jon Torger Berg of Decorah, Iowa, and Erik Berg of Decorah, Iowa; seven grandchildren: Seth Gilbert of Eagan, Minnestoa, Erika Barth Cottrell of Portland, Oregon, Bryndis Hovde Brown of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kai Hovde of St. Paul, Minnesota, Greta Barth Lewis of Red Wing, Minnesota, Britta Gilbert of Denver, Colorado, Hanna Gilbert Sloan of Boulder, Colorado; and 12 great grandchildren: Gretchen Gilbert, Lydia Gilbert, Sydney Kate Cottrell, Elsa Cottrell, Isabel Brown, Finn Brown, Liv Hovde, Evan Hovde, Tristan Barth Olson, Cassidy Mayer, Tegan Sloan and Breckin Sloan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be directed to Luther College.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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