Viola Berger

Viola Berger, age 88, of Carroll, Iowa, died Friday, October 2, 2009, at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 A.M., Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at Holy Spirit Church in Carroll. The Celebrant will be Father Timothy Johnson. The casket will be taken to the church at 8:30 A.M. Tuesday to lie in state until the time of the funeral mass. Lector will be granddaughters, Chelsea Bruening, Jill Pudenz, and Laura Berger. Gift Bearers will be her children, Ron Berger and Jane Bruening. Eucharistic Ministers will be Marilyn Hoffman and Marilyn Steinkamp. Casket Bearers will be grandchildren, Ross Bruening, Ryan Bruening, Chelsea Bruening, Jill Pudenz, Chris Pudenz, and Laura Berger. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll. Friends may call at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll after 3:30 P.M. Monday. A rosary will be prayed at 4 P.M. Monday by the Legion of Mary. There will be a Christian wake service at 7 P.M. Monday by Holy Spirit Parish. Mrs. Berger was born on September 24, 1921, at Halbur, Iowa, the daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth (Kalkhoff) Lange. She spent her younger years in the Halbur and Templeton communities and attended country school and Sacred Heart School in Templeton. On July 31, 1945, she was married to Joseph H. Berger at Saint Peter and Paul Church in Carroll. The couple made their home in Carroll. Mrs. Berger was a homemaker and was employed for many years in the housekeeping department at St. Anthony School of Nursing. She was a member of Holy Spirit Parish, Parish Ladies Guild, Legion of Mary, and volunteered at St. Anthony Hospital and Nursing Home. Viola enjoyed her family, baking, and talking on the telephone. Survivors include her son, Ron Berger and his wife Marian of Carroll; a daughter, Jane Bruening and her husband Wayne of Carroll; grandchildren, Ross Bruening, Ryan Bruening and his special friend Katelyn Goettsch, Chelsea Bruening, Jill Pudenz and her husband Chris, and Laura Berger and her special friend Brandon Gray; a special family friend, Sister LuAnn Hannasch R.S.M. of Livonia, Mich.; and sisters and brothers-in-law, Marie Riesberg of Carroll, Leona Seidl of Coon Rapids, Lucille Berger of Carroll, Frances and Albert Meiners of Coon Rapids, Bernice and Elmer Bluml of Carroll, Edmund and Lavonne Berger of Lidderdale, Dorothy Berger of Lohrville, and Virginia Berger of Carroll. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Berger, in January 2002; her parents; a brother, Lawrence Lange; and sisters, Anita, Eleanor, and Lucille Lange.

Viola Berger

September 24, 1921 - October 2, 2009