Deanna M. Berg

Deanna Marie Smith Berg, 78, of Grand Forks, passed away Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND.

Deanna was born February 22, 1940, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. She was the youngest daughter of Verla and Harry Smith, and graduated from Leeds High School in Leeds, ND.

During her junior and senior years in high school, Deanna worked at her sister’s café in York, where she met a handsome, hard-working farm hand and construction worker.  Lawrence Berg bought a package of gum from Deanna, and wound up with a lifetime commitment.  Soon after high school graduation, Deanna married Lawrence, on June 12, 1958.  Together they had 4 children: Susan, Curtis, John, and Larry.

For the first 20 years, Deanna was a homemaker, where the sewing skills she developed as a teenager were used to create clothes for Susan and Barbie dolls, and to mend rips and buttons on Lawrence’s and the boys’ clothes. She knitted ferociously, making mittens, slippers, scarves and even a cape. It was also during this time—when the family lived in Valley Ho Trailer Court—that the family made lifelong friends with several neighbors.  A few of them founded Card Club in 1971, including Deanna.  Four of the original members—including Deanna—were still meeting with other members to play Whist every month.

In 1978, Deanna traded her job as homemaker and kid chauffeur for a real paycheck.  She worked for one year in the kitchen at Wilder Elementary School.  The next year—and for the next three decades—she was a library aide at Winship Elementary School.  She loved books and children; it was a perfect fit for her.  In 2010, at the age of 70, she finally retired.

In the switch from homemaker to library aide, Deanna encouraged domestic independence in her sons who were still at home.  John and Larry cooked for themselves, including a memorable experience about what to do when a pan catches fire.  Curtis learned—after the fact--the difference between flour and powdered sugar when asked to finish a batch of lefse.  Somehow, all three brothers learned to be incredible cooks; Susan, on the other hand, acquired her mother’s adept sewing skills.

A few of Deanna’s life experiences were memorable because of the challenges they brought.  Her first heart attack—which led to a dozen more infarctions and procedures--was at age 50; at age 57, the family home was ruined in the devastating city-wide flood; and at age 65, Deanna had breast cancer and a mastectomy.  

Like the Energizer Bunny, she kept going.  She kept up her volunteer interests.  In the early years, she was a Brownie and Cub Scout leader; later, she was active at Augustana Lutheran Church, serving on numerous committees and as church librarian.  

In 2008, Deanna and Lawrence celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in the company of family and friends.  After Lawrence passed away in 2014, Deanna simplified her life.  In 2015, she moved to a senior living community, where she found more friends.  Near the end of July 2018, she suffered a paralyzing stroke and never recovered.  She will be missed, even more than her famous frog-eye salad served in the big yellow bowl.

Deanna is survived by her children Susan, Curtis (Laura), John (April) and Larry (Lisa); grandchildren, Kyle, Corey, Chyloe, Matthew, Gabriel, Dustin and Brandon; and great-grandchildren, Joshua, Abigail and Summer.  She is also survived by her sister Stella Kostenko; brothers Donald and Harold (Bonnie) Smith; brothers-in-law Sanford (Sandy), Wayne, and Ralph (Linda); sisters-in-law Phyllis (Larry) Schneider, Karen (Jerry) Skjonsby and Esther (Wendell) Sorlien; sisters-in-law Penni Berg (Orville, deceased), Linda Berg (Palmer, deceased); brother-in-law Leonard Ramsfield (Annabell, deceased); and dozens of nieces, nephews and extended cousins.  She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; sisters Clara Gibb and Rosella Vago, and a much-loved little white dog named Ginger.  

FUNERAL SERVICES:  Monday, August 13, at 1:30 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church, 520 University Ave., Grand Forks, with viewing starting at 12:30 p.m.  

VISITATION:  Sunday, August 12, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Amundson Funeral Home, with a prayer service at 4:30 p.m.   

INTERMENT: Memorial Park South Cemetery of Grand Forks.

Memorials may be directed to the family or to a library of any choice.