Sr. Laverne Berg

Sister Laverne Berg, P.H.J.C., 88, died at 5:15 a.m. on Sunday, December 8, 2002, in the Catherine Kasper Home, Donaldson, Ind., where she had lived since her retirement in February of 1995. Sister Berg was born in Ft. Wayne, Ind., on January 30, 1914, the daughter of Anthony and Loretta Wyss Berg. She entered the convent on June 25, 1931 and professed her first vows on June 25, 1934. An obstetrical nurse most of her career, Sister began her nursing vocation as a nurse’s aide with the elderly in St. Mary’s Home in Carlyle, Ill. and later in St. Vincent’s Home in Quincy, Ill. Six years later, she became a student nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis, Ill., and after obtaining her RN continued working there as a staff nurse. From 1946 through 1972, Sister was an obstetrical nurse and OB supervisor at three different hospitals. From 1946 to 1948, she served in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ashland, Wis.: from 1948 to 1962, she was at St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis, Ill., and from 1963 to 1972 she worked in St. Catherine’s Hospital in East Chicago, Ill. From 1972 to 1974, sister Laverne was head nurse at the Catherine Kasper Home in Donaldson, Ind. In 1974, Sister Laverne went to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ft. Wayne, Ind., where she was a staff nurse for 11 years, a patient registrar and receptionist for two more years and a volunteer for eight additional years until her retirement in 1995. Sister Laverne is survived by five sisters: Marcella Becker, Hoagland, Ind.; Muriel Rossworm and Jane Ternet, both of New Haven, Ind.; Lucille Prouty, Roanoke, Ind.; and Doris Brager, Ft. Wayne, Ind. A brother, Maurice Berg, Hoagland, Ind., and several nieces and nephews survive as well. Visitation will be held in the Catherine Kasper Home, Donaldson, Ind., on Tuesday, December 10, 2002, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. in the Kasper Home on Wednesday, December 11,2002. Father Edward Konerman, S.J. and Father William Kummer, St. Michael Catholic Church, Plymouth, Indiana, will officiate Burial will be in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Donaldson, Indiana.