Obit: Bergh, Signe Marion (1923 - 2009)

Contact:: Robert Lipprandt

Email: bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 
 

Surnames: Bergh, Borgwardt, Brown, Buttner, Didrikson, Erickson, Grant, List  
 

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark Co., WI), Wednesday, October 6, 2009, Online Edition 
 

Bergh, Signe Marion (Erickson) (May 11, 1923 - October 3, 2009) 
 

Signe Marion Bergh, 86, died Saturday October 3, 2009, at Mala Strana Healthcare Center in New Prague, Minnesota.

 
The funeral service will be at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Anderson-Nathan-Koerpel Funeral Home. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday for one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Hayward.

 
To express condolences online, please visit obituaries at www.andersonnathan.com 
 

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----Source: Anderson-Nathan-Koerpel Funeral Home, Hayward, Wisconsin 
 

Signe Marion Bergh, age 86, passed away on Saturday October 3, 2009, at Mala Strana Healthcare Center in New Prague, Minnesota. The exceptional loving care she received at Mala Strana allowed her six more years to share with both her immediate and extended family.  
 
Signe Marion (Erickson) Bergh, the youngest in a family of four brothers (Elmer, Harry, Edwin, and Bernard) and two sisters (Helen and Bertha), was born May 11, 1923 in Hayward, Wisconsin to Amelia Erickson.  
 
Times were tough for a large family during the depression. At the age of fourteen, Signe lost both her brother and mother to illness. Her sister, Helen (Brown), assumed the role of mother. Like the games of cribbage and euchre she enjoyed, life's early lessons taught her how to play the hand she was dealt.  
 
Signe’s childhood courage evolved into the strength she demonstrated as an adult. Though her life was not one of lavishness, the love she gave to those around her made their souls feel abounding.  
 
Signe's childhood dream was to become a speed skater and her role model was Babe Didrikson. Her love of sports from tennis, bowling and golf to White Sox Baseball, Packer football and Hoosier basketball is balanced with her appreciation of Broadway musicals, Viennese waltzes and a good Sousa march. After graduation from Hayward High School, Signe worked as a cashier in one of the early souvenir shops and the A&P, where she met her husband Russell Bergh. He was the son of Orvie and Sue Bergh, owners of Trail's End Resort on Lac Courte Oreilles, and on leave from the army. When WW2 was over, Sig and Russ were wed on March 29, (Sue and Orvie's anniversary) 1947 in a small ceremony in Hayward. Together they worked at the resort and later lived in Siren, Ladysmith, Abbotsford, Mauston , Wisconsin, and Bloomington, Indiana. In 2001, after the death of Russ, Sig moved to Minnesota.  
 
Like a cat with nine lives, Signe was a survivor, overcoming multiple health problems throughout her life. "Say nothing if you have nothing nice to say" (reminiscent of her childhood's reflection), and "Leave things better than you found them" were two of her guiding philosophies. She was a great teacher to her children in developing responsibility and overcoming obstacles. Her nurturing extended well beyond her biological children. All those she touched will miss her dry sense of humor and generous spirit.  
 
Signe’s survivors include daughters: Lynne Bergh of Bloomington, Indiana, Julie Bergh (son-in-law Steven Borgwardt) of Savage, Minnesota and Susan Buttner (son-in-law James Buttner) of Prior Lake, Minnesota. Grandchildren: Brandon Buttner, Ace List of Los Angeles California, Amanda List of Oakland California and 1 great grandchild Amani Grant.  
 
Preceding her in death were her parents, siblings, husband Russell Walter Bergh and son-in-law Michael List.  
 
The funeral service will be at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Anderson-Nathan-Koerpel Funeral Home. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday for one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Hayward.