Arnold Berge

Deerfield - Arnold John Berge, 84, passed away surrounded by his family on Tuesday April 7, 2015 at the Skaalen Home in Stoughton. He left us as a result of complications of pneumonia while recovering from a fall in which he fractured his hip. He was born at Madison General on May 21, 1930, son of Arthur and Carrie (Spilde) Berge.

Arnold graduated from Deerfield High School as the salutatorian in 1948. He went on to attend the Agriculture Short Course at UW Madison for two years and worked with his father on the Berge Family Dairy Farm for many years, eventually taking over the farm and finally retiring from farming in 1997.

On Saturday March 17, 1951, at the St. Patrick's Day dance, Arnold met the love of his life, Janet Loraine Rusch, and they married on June 26, 1954 at East Koshkonong Lutheran Church in Cambridge. Together they danced through 60 years of marriage and spent the years enjoying time with family and friends traveling, dancing and playing cards. For the last 17 years, they enjoyed spending six months over the winter each year at Bonita Vista Mobile Home Park in Apache Junction, Arizona.

He was a family man, dancer, singer and sports fanatic-playing baseball, basketball and football in high school and bowling for many years on a team with his Berge cousins. Some of the highlights of his life were going to the Super Bowl a few years ago and watching his grandchildren and great grandchildren playing baseball and bowling. He was a dedicated member of the Deerfield Lutheran Church where he was in the choir for over 65 years. Arnold was a proud Norwegian, through and through, living on his family's original settlement and homestead for his entire life. He enjoyed traveling to Norway to the Berge and Spilde family farms in Voss and loved passing down phrases like "uff-da", "mange takk", telling Ole & Lena jokes, eating lutefisk dinners and making lefse with Janet and his granddaughter Crystal. Arnold was very dedicated to his family and as an only child he always looked forward to spending time with his cousins over the years, going to Aruba with his sister-in-law Donna for many years and seeing his grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up and explore the farm.

Arnold is survived by his wife Janet, children Gary (Dawn) Berge and Dennis Berge; grandchildren Nathan (Kassondra) Berge, Crystal (Jason) Brabender, Nicholas (Amber) Berge, Andrew (Kathryn) Berge, Ashley Berge, Adraannah Berge, Monica Berge (Joshua Riese), Joshua Berge; great-grandchildren Owyn, Isabell, Arthur, Henry, Charles, Camille, Wyatt, Skylar, Kayden, Bella, Karlee and William; sister-in-laws Donna Rusch and Ruth Rusch, brother-in-law Donald (Patricia Ambrose) Rusch and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at Deerfield Lutheran Church, 206 S. Main St, Deerfield, with the Rev. Larry Sexe officiating. Burial will follow in Deerfield Lutheran Cemetery. Friends and relatives are invited to a luncheon in the church fellowship hall following burial. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of services on Saturday and on Friday, April 10, 2015 from 4-7 p.m. at the church.

Memorials may be made to Deerfield Lutheran Church, 206 S. Main St, Deerfield, WI 53531.
Please share your memories at www.cressfuneralservice.com

Cress Funeral Home
201 Bue St.
Deerfield, WI 53531
608-764-5369