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Memorial for Joanne Berg
March 3, 2023 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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 the late 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, after 18 years, from CUNA Mutual Insurance Group. Her primary interest 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, was president of the chorus 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, Casey, and Curtis Hilts, and 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 and grandson Carter Haugen.
Her family wishes to thank the staffs in the Intensive Care Unit at Unity Point Meriter Hospital, old and new friends, including Elaine and Kay, for caring for her beloved cat, Rudy, during her recent illnesses.
Funeral services will be held at 3 pm on Friday, March 3, 2023 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5701 Raymond Road, Madison. A visitation will be held one hour prior to service. Dinner will follow.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Arthritis Foundation, or the American Heart Association.
