Marilyn Jane Berg

Marilyn Jane Olfert Berg Zerbe was born Feb. 5, 1934 to Dietrich M and Katherina (Franz) Olfert at their farm home in Lustre, Montana. She was the 5th and youngest child in the family. During special services in the church by Alvin Ysker, Marilyn was convicted of her need to give her heart to Jesus. She was too timid to walk to the front when the invitation was given. Later after she had gone to bed, she was so uneasy that she went downstairs and talked with her mother who prayed with her as she asked Jesus to forgive her sins and come to live in her heart and life. Later she was baptized in the local water pond in the summer.

In order to keep a one room school open, she was sent to school at an early age. In fourth grade Marilyn became ill with sydenhams chorea (st. vitas dance) for about a year. After taking fifth and sixth grade in one year, she had a relapse in summer and had trouble walking again so they took her to a clinic in S. Dakota and after some manipulation, she was able to walk again. Seventh and eighth grade were a challenge due to physical stress so she studied at home and passed the county exams!

Her first two years in high school were spent in the newly developed high school in the Lustre community. Then her Dad semi-retired and decided to winter in Dallas, Oregon, where her she and her sister, Ethel, attended Salem Academy. After high school, Marilyn attended Tabor College for one year. To her surprise her Dad wrote letters very frequently. She was only 17 years old that year. In June she went to Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. to start nurses’ training.

After graduating from nursing school in 1955, her first job was in Wolf Point, Mt. as a nurse for Dr. Borge. Through a meeting with friend, Lois Zerbe, from Denver, Co., she decided to move to Denver where she had a job at St. Luke’s hospital and at the same time attended classes at the University of Denver. She graduated with a B.S. in Nursing in June 1960.

Lois mentioned a large College and Career group at Immanuel Baptist church where she met her husband to be, Floyd Berg. They were married March 25, 1961. Marilyn worked as a Public Health Nurse until Myron came along on March 25, 1962. Wesley was born on October 26, 1965. In the meantime, her husband, Floyd, had serious health problems. October 1, 1987, she received phone call that Floyd had passed away during emergency surgery while on a business trip in Montreal.

After Floyd died, Marilyn traveled extensively including trips to Ecuador, 4 trips to Uganda to serve as a nurse, to Nepal, Russia, New Zealand, and Portugal. She also enjoyed hiking in the mountains and climbed several fourteen thousand foot peaks as well as hiking the entire 471 miles of the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango.

On May 18, 2002 she married Ben Zerbe, who also grew up in the same Lustre community. They traveled together and also volunteered in many different missions. Marilyn developed pulmonary hypertension requiring oxygen which was followed by heart problems that were suspected to have begun in childhood. She passed away at the Collier Hospice center the morning of September 12, 2014.

Services will be at 11:00 am, Tues. at Trinity Church of Wheat Ridge (44th and Newland) with reception to follow. Private burial at Olinger Crown Hill.