John Carl Stenberg, 89
John Carl Stenberg, 89
John Carl Stenberg, 89, of Mitchell, Nebraska, died Thursday, July 14, 2016, at home, after a long, courageous battle with cancer.
At his request, cremation has taken place, and there will be no visitation or viewing at Jones Mortuary in Nebraska. Online condolences may be left at www.jones-mortuary.com. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at the United Methodist Church in Mitchell with Pastor Bev Russell officiating. Graveside services will be held later in Kalispell. Memorials may be made to Mitchell United Methodist Church.
John was born May 17, 1927, in Malta, to Carl and Agnes (Nielsen) Stenberg, who immigrated from Bronderslev, Denmark, to homestead in Montana. In 1936, the family moved to the Flathead Valley and farmed in the Creston area. He finished out his education at Creston and Flathead County High School.
John joined the U.S. Navy in 1945, during World War II, and was discharged when the war was over. He then went to Fairbanks, Alaska, as a carpenter to help build the United States Air Force base.
On Dec. 31, 1949, John married Roberta “Bert” Morris from Eureka, and from this union four children were born, Karen, Phillip, Janice and Suzanne. John worked on the Hungry Horse Dam until it was completed and then went back to farming. He went to work for Grosswiler Dairy in the West Valley area. He was very active in the community. John was a 4-H leader and was a president of the Flathead Co. 4-H Foundation board of directors. He was a president of the West Valley School board and Rural School Board Association. As a charter member of West Valley Volunteer Fire Department, he served as assistant chief and much more.
In 1990, after 35 years of working for Grosswiler Dairy, of which he had become manager, John and Bert retired and moved to Mitchell, to be close to family. He then went to work part time for Pathfinder Irrigation, as a ditch rider for the next 13 years. He was a world traveler, twice to Denmark, and loved gardening. He became an avid golfer, and loved playing with son Phil and grandson Travis. He was a member of the American Legion, had been a lifelong member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell and then became a member of United Methodist Church in Mitchell.
He is survived by his wife, Bert, of 67 years; son, Phillip John Stenberg (Susanne) of Boise, Idaho; three daughters, Karen (Doug) French of Mitchell, Janice (Frank) Walsh of Thousand Oaks, California, and Suzanne (Tim) Clark of Woodbury, Minnesota; seven grandchildren, Travis French, Hilary French Kimball, Shaunda French, Annelise Walsh, Emma Walsh, Jacob Schmidt and Jessica Schmidt; three stepgrandchildren, Carissa Sage, Craig and Kyle Robison; seven great-grandchildren and two stepgreat-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Chris Stenberg, of Kalispell; seven sisters, Mary Dietrick and Kay Smith of Kalispell, Anna Burkhart of Salem, Oregon, Agnes Tiffany of Bremerton, Washington, Carol Priddy of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Laura (Robert) Dutton of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Delores Bradley of Prague, Oklahoma; and many nieces, nephews and cousins in the U.S. and Denmark.
He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson, Zachary Schmidt.