Dennis Berger

WELLMAN - Dennis Dean Berger was born April 3, 1938 near Wellman, Iowa, the son of Henry J. & Elma (Ruegsegger) Berger. He graduated valedictorian from Wellman High School in 1956, and served in the Iowa National Guard. On December 11, 1960 he was united in marriage to Janice Y. Gascho at Asbury United Methodist Church in Wellman. Dennis has lived in the Wellman community all of his life where he worked for a brief time at Proctor & Gamble, Iowa City and began farming in 1960. Dennis farmed his entire life and was an early adopter of conservation practices of no-till and cover crops. He enjoyed improving farms through surface and subsurface drainage, building 15 miles of tile inlet terraces and took pride in having a tiling machine on the farm every year he farmed for 55 years.
He was a member of the Asbury United Methodist Church where he served on many committees and boards. He was a member of Iowa Farm Business and Mississippi Valley Farm Business Associations serving as president. Farmer's Coop board, Keota; Washington County Farm Bureau board; Washington County Extension Council; 4-H crop production leader; Kirkwood Community College Agriculture Advisory board; Mid-Prairie Athletic Boosters; Wellman Rotary club, Paul Harris Fellow, hosting many Rotary Exchange Students; Iowa Soybean Promotion Board secretary; charter member of the Washington County Corn/ Soybean associations. Dennis was named Iowa Master Farmer in 1996 by Wallaces Farmer. Dennis helped as fundraiser for the Wellman Parkside Activities Center and Iowa State University Research Farm at Crawfordsville, Iowa.
Dennis died on Friday, October 30, 2015 at the age of 77 years with his family at his side.
He is survived by his wife Janice of Wellman; two sons: Steven (Julie) Berger of Wellman and Terry (Pati) Berger of West Des Moines; and two grandchildren: Shea Berger and Judd Berger. He was preceded by his parents, a brother Harlan Berger and sister-in-law Diane Berger.
Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at Asbury United Methodist Church, Wellman. Pastor Moody Colorado will officiate. Burial will be in the Wellman Cemetery. Visitation will be on Monday, November 2, 2015. Family will greet friends 4-8 PM at the Powell Funeral Home, Wellman.