Ralph Joseph Berg, born April 2, 1928, passed away on July 14.

If you are reading this, I have passed on and I’m visiting with family I haven’t seen in a long time. I’m with my older brothers, Clarence and Gaylord, sister-in-law Charlotte, sister-in-law Marlene, my grandsons Bryan and Stephen, my wife and first love, Shirley Marie Anderson, and my parents, Chester and Alma.

My parents raised five boys; my younger brothers, Harry and Allen, are still living (their spouses are Marilyn and Ardie).

Shirley and I had four children: Suzanne, Mike, Jon and Robin (I enjoyed working with Jon on his many building projects over the years). They gave us 13 grandchildren and over 25 great grandchildren.

Born and raised in DeKalb, I gave up farming and moved our young family to Tucson, Arizona. I owned and operated a heating and air conditioning business before selling and going to work at the University of Arizona in their maintenance department. This allowed me summers off to enjoy our summer home in Michigan.

Shirley and I moved to Bryan, Texas after purchasing Ramblewood Mobile Home Park. We were married for nearly 37 years before Shirley’s passing in 1985.

I married Lynda Lee Flick (Lynny), Shirley’s second cousin, and helped raise her two daughters, Mandy and Becky, as my own. They’re both happily married and gave us three loving grandchildren. I always said I was fortunate to have two loving wives to share my life with. Lynny and I shared 36 years together.

We sold Ramblewood and retired to ranch life to raise cattle, something I always dreamed of doing. We built our home there, one of many I built in my lifetime. After 25 years we moved to Indiana to be closer to Lynny’s girls and our summer home.

I had a remarkable life, traveling the majority of the United States, hunting and fishing in Alaska, Canada and Michigan and doing trail work out west.

We skied in Michigan, Colorado and New Mexico, spent a month with the girls in Australia and New Zealand and vacationed in Hawaii. Lynny and I hiked and backpacked on Isle Royale, traveled to Norway to hike the fjords and see my great grandfather’s homestead outside of Oslo, and traveled to Spain and France, hosted by my brother-in-law Ralph and his wife Juliana.

I had a good life and was lucky to be able to do and see so much. Thank you to my family and friends and everyone who was a part of it. A special thanks to Dan and Cindy, our dear friends who considered me family and whose work ethic mirrored my own.

Happy trails to you all, until we meet…hey wait…I have a game to catch,

Ralph

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, Whitehall, Michigan, is in charge of arrangements. www.beaconfh.com.