George Berg

Madison - George passed away peacefully at Sylvan Crossings Assisted Living on Thursday, May 14. He was born in 1927 in Oak Park, Illinois to Walter and Erma (Schultz) Berg. The family moved to Manitowoc when George was three. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1945. He remained at home on his parents' farm and worked at various jobs in Manitowoc until he was inducted into the Army in 1953. While in the armed services, he served as a truck mechanic in the Marshall Islands. During that time, the first hydrogen bomb was tested at a small island 800 miles from Eniwetok Atoll where his division was located. He felt the heat from the blast, and he witnessed a huge mushroom cloud in a pink sky. George was honorably discharged in 1955.
Thereafter he moved to Milwaukee where he attended the Milwaukee Institute of Technology and earned an Associate of Applied Science degree. He moved to Madison and was employed at Forest Products Laboratory. In 1967 he began working at Badger Ordnance (Olin Mathison) and he completed his work career at the State Department of Administration where he serviced state pool cars. He retired from the DOA in September 1992.
George married Joanne Muggenburg in 1968. He was an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. He volunteered as an usher, Meals on Wheels, Men's prayer ministry, lector, communion assistant and was on the church's Property Committee, servicing the lawn mower and snow blower for many years. He was an expert in trivia with an aptitude for geography and history and loved to try to beat contestants on Jeopardy.
Survivors include his wife, Joanne; two daughters: Janet (Keith) Hilts of Ashland, and Jennifer (Peter) Haugen of Maple Grove, MN; six grandchildren: Jeanne, Casey and Carter Hilts and Curtis, Katie and Nicholas Haugen; and cousins David Pagenkopf of Hainesport, NJ and Jane Jonathan of Walnut Creek, CA as well as many wonderful friends.
Special thanks to the staff of Sylvan Crosssings Assisted Living and the personnel of Agrace HospiceCare for their compassionate and loving care. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Agrace HospiceCare or the National Arthritis Foundation.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday May 19, 2015 at GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH, 5701 Raymond Road with Rev. Brent Campbell presiding. A visitation will be from 10:00 AM until the time of the service at the church on Tuesday.

Cress
Funeral and Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road Madison
608-238-3434
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