Dolores A Berg

Dolores A Berg, of Wahpeton, passed away on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at the age of 95. Visitation will be held at St. John's Catholic Church (Wahpeton) on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, from 5 PM - 7 PM with Prayer Service at 7 PM. Her Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at St. John's Catholic Church beginning at 11 AM. Visitation will take place one hour prior. 

Dolores Agnes (Hafner) Berg was born August 20, 1930, in Breckenridge, MN to Christopher and Agnes (Graves) Hafner. She was united in marriage to Roman Jasper Berg on September 23, 1948. The couple farmed near Wahpeton where they raised three sons and a daughter. They retired from farming and moved off the farm just north of Wahpeton to expand their ceramic business in 1969.

Berg's Ceramics was a wholesale and retail outlet for arts and craft items but mainly ceramic products. At the peak of their operation over a ton of cay per week was used to produce thousands of greenware items which were sold to other shops in the tri-state area and Canada, along with kilns, paints, brushes, and other supplies needed for the craft. The business thrived from 1969 until 1995, at which time the remaining inventory was auctioned off. For over 25 years the ceramics along with other crafts was a popular pastime for many people but interest declined after that. 

Dolores was a member of St. John's Catholic Church in Wahpeton. She was a talented artist with diverse abilities. She read arts and craft articles constantly and learned most of what she did from books. She arranged flowers for the church on special occasions and was consistently asked to repair and repaint many damaged religious statues. She also decorated the Easter Candle every year while she was still able. She taught ceramic classes herself but also brought in many well-known artists to teach other mediums such as canvas painting and china painting appealing to many other interests. 

Dolores was always willing to donate her time and talent whenever she was asked. The Wahpeton Park began the endeavor of purchasing a carousel in the early 90's. Time spanned over three years from locating the carousel, restoring it, constructing a building to house it, and painting the restored horses as well as the rounding boards around the carousel. She also painted the background of several displays in the Interpretive Center. Dolores spent many donated hours to complete her portion of the painting for the carousel and the Interpretive Center. She estimated the time spent on each horse at around fifty hours. The paintings at the Interpretive Center were lost in the flood of 1997 but the carousel was saved with sandbags and pumping or water and constant supervision by Lonnie Halvorson, the caretaker of the carousel. 

Dolores continued to take on small projects after the close of the ceramic shop while she was able. Dolores and Roman became regulars at the Senior Center playing cards at least three days a week. They also played in many pinochle tournaments around the area and were well known regulars. She continued reading and improving her artistic ability as long as she could. She always had a green thumb and enjoyed tending to her flowers. They enjoyed spending quality retirement time together for almost twenty years. Dolores' health declined as time went on and she entered St. Francis Home in August of 2017. She has been a resident there until now.

Delores is survived by her three sons and one daughter. Jeffrey (Monica) Berg, Jerome (Sandy) Berg, Daniel (Sharon) Berg, Michelle (Howard) Lueck, 11 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, 4 great-greatgrandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Dolores was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Roman, three brothers and two sisters.