Graveside Committal for Joanne E. (Thompson) Berg

Joanne Berg died Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at the age of 88, after a long battle with heart disease. She was born at her parents home in Eyota, Minnesota in February of 1935, the daughter of Elizabeth (Schmidt) and John Thompson. A 1953 graduate of Chatfield (Minnesota) High School, Joanne attended Hamline University where she earned a B.A. in music in 1957. She married Wayne Muggenburg in 1956. They divorced in 1965. In 1968, she married George C. Berg in Madison. He preceded her in death in 2015.

Joanne retired in 1991 from CUNA Mutual Insurance Group after eighteen years of service. Her primary focus was her family. She also loved classical music and thoroughly enjoyed performing as well as attending concerts. For three years she taught instrumental music in Mitchell, South Dakota and Minot, North Dakota. She sang in the Madison Symphony Chorus for 52 years, serving as its president from 1989-1990, and served for many years as a docent for the Education Committee of the Madison Symphony. She was an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Madison where she sang in the choir, rang handbells, created and played in a flute choir (Flutessence), and volunteered in many other capacities. Despite having two knee replacements and a hip replacement she never lost her enthusiasm for downhill skiing; and for thirteen years (1992-2005) she was active as an arthritis educator in a program called Patient Partners, and through that organization made many valued friends.

Joanne is survived by daughters Janet (Keith) Hilts of Wausau and Jennifer Haugen of Minnetonka, MN; five grandchildren: Jeanne and Casey Hilts, Curtis, Katie and Nicholas Haugen; two nieces, Bonnie (Joe) Nichols and Diane (Joel) Wagner; and three nephews, Steve (Gay), Dean and Donald (Barbara) Bernard.

She was preceded in death by her husband George, sister Hazel Bernard and grandson Carter Hilts.

Her family wishes to thank the staff of the Intensive Care Unit at UnityPoint Meriter Hospital as well as those at Agrace Hospice Care,  old and new friends including Elaine and Kay for caring for her beloved cat, Rudy, during her recent illnesses.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Arthritis Foundation, or the American Heart Association.