Thomas Nelson Berger

Thomas Nelson Berger, 86, of Sioux City, passed away Monday, October 15, 2012 at a local care facility. Funeral services will be held 1:00 P.M. Thursday, October 18, 2012 at Trinity Lutheran Church with Reverend R. Paul Johnston and Chaplain Neal Peck officiating. Visitation will be Wednesday, October 17, 2012 from 4 to 8 P.M. with the family present from 6 to 8 P.M. and a Masonic service and prayer service at 7 P.M. all at Nelson-Berger Northside Chapel. Burial will be at Graceland Park Cemetery. Online condolences can be directed to meyerbroschapels.com. Thomas Nelson Berger was born on June 28, 1926, in Sioux City, Iowa, to A. Lester Berger and Dora Nelson Berger. He attended Bryant, North Junior High, and Central High School where he played football and basketball. He joined the Navy during his senior year of high school in 1944. He attended Radio Operation School in San Diego and served as a radioman aboard the USS Gilmer APD. His most memorable experiences in the Navy included being part of the first task group into Nagasaki after the bombing to free our POW's and experiencing a several day typhoon off Okinawa. After an honorable discharge he attended the University of Wyoming for one year then transferred and graduated from Stanford University. He was then called back into the Navy during the Korean War. Tom received an AMS Degree from the University of Minnesota in 1952, returned to Sioux City, and joined his father and grandfather in the Nelson Berger Funeral Services where he served his friends and community for over 50 years. On March 27, 1960, in Sioux City, Tom married Gail L. Swanson. They raised four children: Beth, Amy, Megan, and Michael. Tom was a lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church and American Legion Monahan Post 64. He was a member of Junior Chamber of Commerce, VFW Post 1973, Four Stack APD Veterans Association, and a past Commander of the China Burma India Veterans Association of Iowa. Tom was a 50 year member and Past Master of Tyrian Lodge; 50 year member of the Sioux City Scottish Rite Bodies where he received an Honorary 33rd degree; 50 year member and 1994 Potentate of Abu Beker Shrine Temple; 50 year member and Past President of Sioux City Rotary where he received a Paul Harris Fellow from his friends in Rotary. For 30 years, Tom served as Secretary of Sunrise Manor Board. He was a past member of the Royal Order of Jesters where he delighted in bringing merriment to his friends with limericks. Fortunately, Tom never lost his uncanny sense of humor throughout his 86 years. History was a favorite pastime of Tom's, and he did Naval Research in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Villa Sioux in Acapulco, Mexico, was a favorite vacation spot of Tom and Gail's. It is here they enjoyed over 30 years of good times with family and friends. Tom is survived by his wife Gail; daughter Beth Stava (Mike) of Eureka, Missouri, and their children Thomas, Samuel, and Zachary; daughter Amy Abell (Terry Graves) of Sioux City and daughters Amanda and Samantha; daughter Megan Berger-Trilk (Mike) of Rockford, Illinois, and children Nicholas, Abigail, Timothy, and Elizabeth; and son Michael Berger (Heather Brienzo) of Sioux City; 2 brothers-in-law, Bob Swanson (Marge) and Jim Swanson (Karen); 2 sisters-in-law Judy Swanson and Anne Berger; several nieces and nephews and a host of friends. Preceeding Tom in death were his parents, a brother Paul Berger, and sister Doris Sackett and husband Ralph Sackett. The family wishes to thank Hospice of Siouxland and the staff of Holy Spirit for their wonderful, loving care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the following: Hospice of Siouxland, Trinity Lutheran Church, or Abu Beker Transportation Fund.