Bernard 'Abe' Bergren

  Bernard “Abe” Bergren, 89, our husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at his home in Havre of natural causes. His memorial service will be 1 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2013, at Fifth Avenue Christian Church with Pastor Titus Bergren, his grandson, officiating. Full military honors will be held outside of the church. A luncheon will be held at the church immediately following the military service. Memorials in Bernard’s honor may be made to Havre Food Bank or Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen in Havre. Services and arrangements have been entrusted to Holland & Bonine Funeral Home. 

Bernard was born August 4, 1923, in Harlem, Mont., and was raised in Hogeland, Mont., on the Big Flat. He attended school in Hogeland, graduating high school in 1940. He went to work at the shipyards in Seattle as a chisler and then was drafted into the United States Navy, July 13, 1943.  He married Clea Richman in May 1944. He was honorably discharged in December 1945.  After the war, he returned to Montana and lived in Harlem and raised his family.  He later moved his family to Havre, where Bernard went to work as a mechanic for the Montana Department of Transportation. His wife Clea passed away on April 2, 1994.  He and Arlene Heppner were married on June 7, 1997, in Lincoln, Mont.

Bernard enjoyed country western music, dancing, and playing cards, and he really didn’t like to lose.  He loved to restore his old cars. He was a very generous man with a compassionate, kind and fun-loving nature. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to joke and tease with those he loved.  He also  was a fantastic storyteller, but most of all, he loved to spend time with his family.

Bernard was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Clea Bergren; his sisters, Helen McGuire and Eloise Hern; and his brother, Frank Bergren.

Bernard is survived by his wife of 16 years, Arlene  of Havre; his six children, Jerry (Penney) Bergren and Tom (Deb) Bergren, all of Havre, Lynne (Gary) Nordrum of Bayview, Idaho, and Richard “Dick” (Garnet) Bergren, Randy (Janice) Bergren, and Clea H. Bergren, all of Havre; his stepchildren, Rosann (Burt) Tiegen of Palmer, Alaska, Ramona (Jim) Awbery of Lewistown, Mont., Rhonda (Scott) Skerlock of Lincoln, Mont., Rena (Bob) Spangler of Montana City, Mont., and Rudy Heppner of Helena; his 26 grandchildren and 53 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Vernice Doughton of Great Falls, Mont.