Mickey Von Bergen

Mickey Von Bergen, 77, beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend passed away on May 25, 2020 due to complications from the coronavirus.  He is best remembered for his confidence, humor, hard work & friendships.

He was born on June 30th, 1942 in Shenandoah, Iowa, the oldest of Anita (Kinney) and William Von Bergen’s three children. His family made up for their lack of means with a strong work ethic and careful (some might say overly frugal) spending. Those traits guided Mick in his adult life.

He spent his childhood in Iowa where he enjoyed westerns and collected comic book such as Richie Rich and Archie that he carefully labeled “MICKEY” in large black marker across the top. He kept many of these comics over the years and was as recently as a few weeks ago looking for interested buyers, any takers?

When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Ames. Mick attended Ames High School 1956 –1960, where he excelled in football and track. He was part of two state track championship teams and ran in the historic Drake Relays.

Mick was the first member of his family to go to college. He attended Iowa State University where he earned a degree in engineering. He was active in intramural sports and the Iowa State ROTC, through which was named top cadet in his class. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity, where he met many of his life-long friends.  Mick never smiled as much as he did when he reminisced with his buddies about their decades of shared memories, often involving adventures filled with questionable decision making. Even while in the hospital in his final days, an elusive smile was coaxed with the reminder that he still owes his fraternity brothers a keg of beer from a college bet that was never paid up.

He continued his education at the University of Iowa and earned an MBA in 1966.

Mick loved adventure and believed the world was full of opportunity. This included hitch-hiking and sneaking onto empty railcars to see the country. He recommended picking a rail car with flat floors, pointed in the direction of your destination. Fortunately, his children never used this advice.

Mick served in the Army in Vietnam as a second lieutenant transportation officer and earned a bronze star.  While serving, he developed the Von Bergen rules of survival, including rule #1: “Don’t be where you shouldn’t be.”

When his tour in Vietnam ended, he traveled across 26 countries in Europe on about $5 a day, subsisting mainly on peanut better while traveling in a Volkswagen bus.  It was during this time that he developed new nuggets of wisdom, including “When the peanut butter is too cold to spread, it’s time to head home.”

Mick returned to the states and discovered his life’s next great adventure. He met Judith Kay Hannum and they were married on June 16, 1973. In November 1975, they became parents to triplets: Katherine, Jacqueline, and Nicholas.  The VB3, as they were known, were born 10 ½ weeks early. Mick had a terrifying start to fatherhood with three children in intensive care.  Despite the touch-and-go beginning, the VB3 were home before their original due date. Although Mick admitted the terror of parenting three children at once continued for some time.

Throughout his various adventures Mick accumulated many close friends, and this continued as he married and started a family.

The family moved to Madison in 1978, when Mick took a position as a sales manager at Warman International (now Weir).  He was a hard worker and excellent manager. At the age of 44 he was promoted to General Manager, a job that reported to the home office in Australia.  Despite long and odd hours (since his supervisor was in Sydney), he found time to coach sports teams for his children.

Mick and Judy joined Covenant Presbyterian Church soon after arriving in Madison. The church community has played a large role in the lives of their family over the past 40+ years.

Mick also found another of his great loves: a 1964 Austin Healey convertible. It was the realization of a life-long dream to own a classic sports car and a reward for a lifetime of hard work. Mick and Judy loved to just go for a drive. The family still refers to beautiful weather days as “Healey days.”

Mick made sure his kids knew college was an expectation. They did not disappoint, earning three bachelors’ degrees, two masters’ degrees and an M.D. between them.

Just as the triplets departed for college, Mick and Judy had the good fortune of having Agnes Olson, and her sons become part of their family “by choice”. He found substantial joy as uncle Mick, attending sporting events and celebrating the accomplishments of Alex, Aaron and Alvin.

In the early 2000s Mick started to have symptoms of early-onset dementia, which contributed to an early retirement. Mick found life away from work challenging. But over time he began to discover new interests. He took multiple trips to climb some of the 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado (Fourteeners) with his SAE brothers. He also really enjoyed being an active member of the Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club, which was no surprise with his love of the Badgers.

Mick became a grandfather on Father’s Day in 2006 with the birth of Claire Marie Von Bergen. Michael Alexander “Xander” Whitley and Brooke Deitte Von Bergen followed in 2009. Then William Von Bergen “Bergen” Whitley (named for Mick) in 2011, Katherine Quinn “Quinn”  Whitley and Brynn Katherine Donnelly in 2014, and the family baby Sullivan Jack Donnelly in 2017. Dementia robbed him of his ability to pick up or play with the grandchildren, but he loved to be with and near them. He adapted to holding the children on a Boppy pillow, and would often hold them through their naps.  This fortitude eventually earned him the grandpa name “Boppy”. In some of his happiest moments, he was surrounded by his family enjoying watching the grandkids play.

When Mick was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2010, he handled the challenges of the disease with grace and humor and generally accepted his limitations without complaint.

Mick moved into Attic Angels in 2015, where he was well-loved and well-cared for. His body made simple things a struggle but his will to live did not diminish. He always had a joke or funny comment ready. The joy he felt when entertaining friends and family and sharing humor never left him.

Our last months with Mick were spent talking to him on the phone, video chatting or seeing him through a window as the world descended into pandemic quarantine. It was difficult to be separated from him. Extraordinary measures were taken to keep Mick and so many others safe. It still was not enough. He fell ill and was rushed to the VA hospital and diagnosed with COVID-19. He spent his final days in intensive care under the watchful eyes of the wonderful caretakers working on the COVID ward. We can never thank them enough for the care and kindness they provided.

After months of being apart due to the pandemic, Mick’s wife, children and grandchildren were brought together by happenstance or divine plan in Judy’s backyard on Memorial Day (at appropriate social distance). During the brief time when everyone was together, Mick left his broken body behind.

He is loved.  He is missed. His family is incredibly sad, and also relieved.

Mick is preceded in death by his parents William and Anita Von Bergen; his sister Becky Wallway; sister-in-law Rebecca Von Bergen; nephew Samuel Ross Von Bergen and many close friends.  He is survived by his wife Judith Von Bergen; his brother William Allen Von Bergen; his children Katherine (Chris) Donnelly, Nicholas (Jenny) Von Bergen, Jacqueline (Michael) Whitley; seven grandchildren, 13 nieces and nephews and a debt of one keg of beer the family plans to honor at the celebration of his life.

A small family-only burial took place on Saturday. Mick’s celebration of life will be scheduled when it is safe to do so. The family will update Mick’s profile on CaringBridge.org when a date is chosen.

As much as we love flowers, please consider a donation to Covenant Presbyterian Church (covenantmadison.org/give), Heifer International (heifer.org), Attic Angel Place (atticangel.org/giving), or any charity that helps make the world better in Mick’s name.