'Babe' W. Berge, 90
"Babe" W. Berge, 90, born in Bejou, Minnesota to Art Winter and Beatrice Halvorson Winter on Sept. 20, 1934, was the fourth of six sisters. Connie Ohren of Morehead, Minnesota is now the last surviving sister. Babe was a graduate of Mahnomen High School and then received her LPN in Crookston, Minnesota.
Arlene Mae Winter, her legal name, married Karsten Berge in 1953. Karsten owned Berge Store and Babe was working as a nurse. Their cabin at Union Lake was a source of fun, swimming and fishing. The memories are still fresh and vivid to Sandy, Erik, Jon and Naime.
In 1969, the Berge family moved to Whitefish, living at the Castle for two decades. Babe actually taught two of her grandchildren how to do cartwheels, somersaults and jack knifes. She was in her 50's!
Babe always had great fashion sense and owned and operated two clothing stores. Sandra's was purchased in 1974 and Babe's in 1990 in Kalispell. Both Karsten and Babe thoroughly enjoyed and took great pride in being part of the Whitefish downtown business community.
She was a natural athlete; golfing, tennis and dancing came easily. Her favorite past time was walking her Jack Russell, TK. She spent hours walking around the pond and river trail by her home on O'Brien Avenue. Her favorite drink was coffee, and favorite meal was ice cream. Her great smile, sense of humor and common sense will be greatly missed by her family.
She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Carol, Mary Lou, Betty and Patty. Her husband, Karsten Berge, passed in 2009; grandson, Max Berge Stillman in 2016; and son-in-law, Kelly Conrad Jr., MD in 2021.
She is survived by her four children, Sandy of Bend, Oregon; Erik of Whitefish; Jon of Palm Springs, California; and Naime of Minnetonka, Minnesota. She also has three grandchildren in Bend, AK Conrad III, Caitlin Conrad Fields (Jeremy) and Naime Conrad; plus, two great-grandchildren, Karsten and June Fields. Grace Berge Stillman lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
A private family service will be held later in 2025. No donations are expected but if desired, North Valley Food Bank was her favorite. To send online condolences, please visit www.columbiamortuary.com.