John Bergman

John F. (Jack) Bergman, of Rhinelander, died unexpectedly at his home on Sunday, January 15, 2012 after a brief illness of esophageal cancer. Jack was born in Wausau, WI on March 10, 1936 to Walter and Edith (Sandbohm) Bergman. He moved to Rhinelander at an early age and graduated from Rhinelander High School on 1954. He attended the University of Wisconsin/Madison. Shortly after Jack and Sandra Reid were married in 1958, he was drafted into the peacetime army and was stationed in Honolulu Hawaii until late 1960. During his army service, he attended the University of Hawaii and it was there that Jack and Sandy welcomed their first child, Stephanie Jean Mary into their family. Sally Anne and Andrew John were born after their return to Rhinelander where Jack resumed his career at Rhinelander Paper Company. Starting as a summer helper on the roll floor, taking classes and working hard to better himself, Jack filled various positions in both the Rhinelander pulp and paper mills. He retires in 1998 as Order and Production Manager. Jack was a loyal and dedicated employee and proud to be a member of the Wausau Paper Mill family.

Jack is survived by his wife Sandra and two daughters: Stephanie (Steve) Adams of Ormond Beach Florida and Sally Anne (Tom) MacGillis of Wauwatosa WI and his only son and best friend, Andy (Judy Zickuhr) of Mequon, WI. Jack is survived by three grandchildren: Sean, Elle and Scott MacGillis and two step grandchildren: Chris and Stephanie Nicole. He is also survived by one sister Patricia (Dr. Tom) Stengl of Bismarck ND and several nieces and nephews including Lori Ann Nelson and Tom (Sandy) Nelson of Rhinelander. Music, both classical and folk, was an important part of Jack’s life.

A memorial has been established in Jack Bergman’s name for ArtStart Inc, a Rhinelander area community art and culture center. A celebration of Jack’s life will be Saturday, January 21, 2012 at Hildebrand Russ Funeral Home from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Rhinelander’s Hildebrand-Russ Funeral Home, 715-365-4343 is assisting the family with arrangements. All are invited to sign Jack’s guestbook at hildebrandfh.com.