Howard Gordon Berge

Howard Gordon Berge (90) died peacefully in the Bonner’s County Hospital, Sandpoint, Idaho on July 23, 2016. He was being visited by his grandson who was at the hospital to share a quiet moment in the early morning. A memorial service for Howard will be held on Thursday July 28, 2016 at the Coffelt’s Funeral Chapel, Sandpoint, ID at 11 am. Howard was born on Feb 6, 1926 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to John Gardie Berge and Lauretta Elsie Wright. Howard was the 4th of 8 children, six of whom have already past to the other side. Howard was a veteran of WWII joining the Marine Corp at the age of 17. He served in Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. Returning from the Pacific Theater he married Margaret Carol Gordon with whom he had 3 daughters. Mary Frances Johnson and husband Bruce, Inga Karen Wilkinson and husband Paul and Patricia Emily Neidigh and husband William who is deceased. They later divorced and after some years he married Nettie Lois Rice Berge with whom had a step son Denver Woolever and 2 sons, James William Berge, and Michael Richard Berge and wife Joy Kathleen Pemberton Berge. Howard spend 31 years working as a machinist for the Boeing Company. He like to say that he was never laid off, they might have him sweeping floors, but they never laid him off. The great love of Howard’s life was Horses. He grew up on a farm that only had horses to do the work. He learned young how to work and handle horses. He had a spirit about him that horses seemed to connect with and he could get them to do almost anything he wanted them to do. Howard moved to Sandpoint in 1990 from western Washington and the next summer started to give free wagon rides at the county fair and continued for the next twenty years. He had done the same thing at the Mason County Fair in Shelton Washington for many years. In 1989 Howard took his team on the Washington State Centennial ride from Idaho to the Pacific Ocean. Howard also loved to take his teams on the 245 mile trip across Washington on the John Wayne memorial Trail Ride. Some people thought that his fjord/cross horses wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace, but he soon proved them wrong and others had a hard time keeping up with his team. He made the trip about 25 times and 15 of those times he was the wagon master. He is survived by 3 daughters and 3 sons, 16 grandchildren and many great grandchildren and one sister Elizabeth Carol McMinn of Akerman, MS. He is also survived by two favorite horses Red and Marie. He will be missed by all who knew him.