Willard "Bill" Lamar Berg

Willard "Bill" Lamar Berg, 82, of Springfield, IL, formerly of North Dakota and Michigan, passed away peacefully, April 4, 2018, at his residence with his family by his side. He was born November 29, 1935 in Abercrombie, ND, to Emil Lamar and Alma Rostad Berg. He was baptized at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Abercrombie and confirmed at Galchutt Lutheran Church. Bill was preceded in death by his first wife, T. Ruth Eide in 1985; grandson, Alex Boidy; brothers, Emil Ole, John, Wes, and Dave; sisters, Shirley Hingst and Romana Haakensen. He married Judith Irene Gilday October 29, 1988. Bill graduated from Galchutt High School where he excelled as a basketball player and helped his uncle on the family farm. He enlisted in the US Army, immediately after graduation, and was honorably discharged after 2 years. Bill then joined the US Air Force, and leaned the skills needed as a weather equipment technician. He was stationed in Hawaii, Texas, Washington, Oklahoma, Kansas, Germany, Illinois and Japan and retired after 20 years of military service. Wahpeton Science School where he received college credits.The National Weather Service brought Bill and his wife to central Illinois, where he worked for several years. He loved playing golf with his friends locally; he looked forward to several games of golf with his brothers during visits to North Dakota and Texas. Cremation rites will be accorded by Cremation Services of Central Illinois, Chatham, IL. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 29 years, Judith; son, Mark (Linda) Berg of Springfield; daughters, Debra (Karl) Lahtinen of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, Lisa (Ron) Cleveringa of Green Bay, Wisconsin; grandchildren, Megan and Drew Boidy; brother, Burton (Kristie) Berg of Wahpeton, North Dakota; step-grandchildren, Jason (Ashley) Hill, Amanda (Josh) Pierce, Lance Hill; step-great grandchildren, Logan Hill, Nicholas and Samuel Pierce. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 3 pm, at the Calvary Church 501 Caf, 501 West Hazel Dell Rd. Springfield, IL 62711, with Bills family and friends sharing his life stories.Committal Service will be held at 1 pm, Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at Sunrise Cemetery in Muskegon, Michigan. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org or the American Red Cross, www.redcross.org