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Florence (Flossie) Gennille (Bellefy) Berg, age 77, of St Ignatius,
MT passed away on March 1, 2008 of a broken heart and pulmonary lung
fibrosis while surrounded by her family. She was born June 17, 1930
to Louis and Alma Bellefy at Zerkel (Pine Center) Minnesota, one of
thirteen children.
.gif) Florence
was baptized and confirmed at Rice Lutheran Free Church, and
attended country school and Bagley High School. She was very active
in Sunday school, speech, and sports.
She started working for neighbors as a baby-sitter at age 13, and
worked as a tray girl and nurses-aide in the Clearwater Hospital,
and also worked in several cafes as a waitress. She moved to Great
Falls in the spring of 1949, and worked at the Club Cafeteria,
Top-Notch Café, Old Eddies Café (down town), and Bairs Truck Stop.
Florence married Duane Berg at Conrad in 1950, following her husband
in construction work and in doing so worked in several eating
establishments. In 1953, they moved to Iron Range in Aurora and
Biwabik in northern Minnesota. She bought a farm in Shevlin, MN.
They moved back to Great Falls in 1965. Duane and Florence divorced
in 1968.
She received her GED in 1969 and attended Great Falls Commercial
College for 1 year, and worked as a bookkeeper for Country Kitchen,
Mattingly Custom Foundation Enterprises and also managed a trailer
court. She retired in 1987 due to physical disabilities.
She was very active in her children’s lives as a Sunday school
teacher, PTA member, 4H leader, and assistant Den Mother in the Boy
Scouts. She was treasurer for AAL; a member of Women’s Bowling
Association as Secretary, bowler and Score keeper; and a member of
First English Lutheran Church in Great Falls where she was a member
of the choir for many years.
Florence loved to travel and visit her family, and made several
trips, including two trips to Hawaii with her daughters;
Newfoundland, Canada to visit her son while he was stationed in the
military; Calgary, Canada to visit her son; road trip to Alaska with
daughter and granddaughter; and several trips back to Minnesota and
Oregon. She loved playing cards, word puzzles, and making birthday,
holiday and anniversary cards for family and friends. She lost a son
Jim to AIDS, in January 1994 and created a panel with the help of
family and friends, which was dedicated in Whitefish on April 23,
1994. She was also a Peace Hospice volunteer.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents, one son, three
sisters and two brothers. She is survived by her sons Gary of Charlo,
Dave of St. Ignatius, and Curtis of Turner, OR.; daughter Becky
(John) Lekan of Bagley, MN., and Judy Frank of Thompson Falls, MT.;
brothers Lawrence (Jane) Bellefy, Joseph (Dorothy) Bellefy, Richard
Bellefy, and Marvin (Bonnie) Bellefy, sisters Mearle Montieth, and
Adeline Wooliscroft all of Bagley, MN., and Diane Morris of Rogers,
MN.; nine grandchildren, eight great-grand children, and numerous
nieces and nephews.
Funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. at Grogan Funeral Home in
Polson, on Tuesday March 4, 2008 with Janet Young of Hot Springs
Trinity Lutheran Church officiating. Cremation will follow. Private
inurnment of the remains will be held at a later date. All donations
to go to St. Patrick’s House, 501 W. Alder, Missoula, MT 59802 in
memory of Florence G. Berg. There is a memorial website at
www.caringbridge.com/visit/florenceberg.
It is hard for us to summarize seventy-seven years into a few
paragraphs of what a wonderful mother she was, she always put her
family first, even up to her final days. She taught us one important
lasting lesson: to appreciate what you have now before it’s too
late.
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