Obit: VandeBerg, Russel Elton (1923 - 2017)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: VandeBerg, Ziegler, Gross, Harwell, Gilmer

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/15/2017

VandeBerg, Russel Elton (26 September 1923 – 10 March 2017) With Flag

Russel Elton VandeBerg, 93, of Neillsville passed away March 10, 2017, at home in the care of family, Hospice, and aides while battling cancer. He was born Sep. 26, 1923 to Horace and Fern VandeBerg as the youngest of five children, Bernice, Harold, Lloyd and Gale. He was raised in the Town of York and graduated from the Neillsville High School. Russel served in the U. S. Army Air Corps from February 1946 until March of 1947.

He married Erline Ziegler Dec. 9, 1950, and they lived in the Town of York for seven years where they began their family. In 1958, they bought a farm on USH 10 south of the Golf Course and raised six children, Bruce, Craig, Mark, Marcia, Robert, and Renee. In 1978, they sold the farm and the property became annexed to the city to hold Citizens State Bank, Pamida, the American Legion, Homme Home, the Dental Clinic, and private homes along Fairground Avenue.

As a young man, Russel worked double time by farming up to 360 crop acres of sweet corn and sweet peas for the Loyal Cannery on land which he retained in the Town of York and on the edge of town. He also raised 85 head of Hereford beef cattle and various other animals for his children’s farm experience, while continuing his postal career as a rural carrier.

Through is exemplary service to the Rotary Club, Russel was instrumental in several area community projects, which included the first expansion of the Neillsville High School. Also, he was head of the Tri-County Committee for Higher Education, which included Clark, Wood, and Marathon Counties formed to bring college education facilities closer to the people of Wisconsin in the form of two-year colleges. The creation of Bruce Mound was another Rotary project that Russel played a huge role in.

Russel was also chairman for the Rotary Club’s “Pig Project.” In cooperation with the high school ag teacher, it helped Neillsville High school farm kids make money for themselves. The project resulted in tremendous favorable media publicity, and Neillsville soon became known as “The feeder pig capital of the world.” Russ was active in the Neillsville Parent Teacher’s Association, the Neillsville Masonic Lodge as a Master Mason, and in The American Legion. In 1980, Russel retired from the postal service with 30 years of service. He was active in the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

With a love for travel, Russ and Erline visited every state in the nation and over 15 foreign countries. Four winters were spent in the dry, warm climate of Lake Havasu, AZ, followed by 14 years of residence in Boulder City, NV, and the past 11 in Mesa, AZ. They didn’t forget Neillsville though, and returned to spend each summer with family and friends. Although Russel worked a lot, he played a good share in his later years, continuing ski trips to numerous states with Erline, and their ski group. He also enjoyed Canadian fishing trips with his sons and friends, for years. Golfing became a way to socialize and his score was irrelevant. Dancing was his passion, and many times he would say, “May I die in the center of the floor during the last dance of the evening.”

Russel is survived by his wife Erline; sons, Bruce (Mary) of Neillsville, Craig (Linda) of Oakland, CA, Mark of Eau Claire, Robert (Amye) of Bloomington, IL; and daughters, Marcia (Jerry) Gross of Neillsville, and Renee (Chris) Harwell of Knoxville, TN. He is also survived by one brother, Gale of Madison; and 10 grandchildren, Clint, and Casey VandeBerg, Brittany Gilmer, Jasmine, Dylan, Roman, and Jade Gross, James, and Lauren VandeBerg, and Devin Harwell; and nine great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.