Obituary of Berit Rogers

Berit Hverven Hauge Rogers, 83, of Cambridge went to dance with the angels on January 9, 2012. She passed away at the Cambridge Medical Center after a brief hospital stay, where she was cared for by a group of earthly angels. Berit was born on September 21, 1928 to Ragnhild Margrethe (Olsen) and Jørgen Martinius Hverven in Oslo, Norway. She was raised there along with her sister and 7 half-siblings. Her older brothers loved to spoil the red-headed baby of the family. The German occupation of Norway during WWII was to influence her in ways that would be evident later in her life. She graduated from high school in 1947 and went to work in the Oslo Harbor Master's office until she fell in love with Odd Roald Hauge on their first date. They were married in Oslo in 1951. In 1952, Berit boarded the Stavangarfjord (an ocean liner) and sailed to America with 6 week old Anne to reunite with Odd, who had gone ahead of her to get a job and find a place to live. They struggled as did any young couple starting out so she helped the budget out by pressing and ironing for people in the neighborhood, selling homemade potato chips and knitting sweaters, baby booties, afghans, hats, mittens, and anything else that was requested. After adding Karin to the family and living in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York for 10 years, they headed to Minnesota. They lived in St. Louis Park where their third daughter Monica was born and then built a house in Crystal, moving again in 1966 to the farm in Cambridge. She remained on the farm after Odd's death in 1977. Can you believe that she survived raising Monica alone through her teenage years? In 1981, the opportunity to work as an administrator of a nursing home in Oslo, Norway came up and Berit jumped at the chance to move "home" for a year. She made many new friends and was able to be with her brothers and sisters and extended family again. In 1983, Berit met Hank Rogers and they married in 1985. Her mother had always told her "By all means, get married but don't marry a widower with 7 kids!" and that's just what she did! They lived in Isle for a short time, then built a house in Mora. But they traveled the country in their fifth wheel and spent winters in the warm climates, eventually deciding that Bit-O-Heaven RV park in Donna, Texas was the place to be. Sadly, Hank passed away in 1993 but she continued to spend the winters in Donna. Pine Village, Riverwood and River Hills were more places Berit stopped before moving to Carsten's Harbour/Haven House in 2010. Berit started her employment career at the Cambridge State Hospital in 1967 as a nurse's aide, quickly being promoted to a psychiatric technician. Her work there inspired her to attend St. Mary's Junior College and she graduated in 1972 with her 2-year RN degree. She continued working at the State Hospital with a compassion for the residents that couldn't be denied. Berit decided to pursue her 4-year BS RN degree and graduated from The College of St. Benedict in 1979. She continued to work in Cambridge, for a time at Cambridge Nursing Care Center and Grandview Christian Nursing Home, teaching the new nurse's aides. Berit was a woman of several talents and interests and folks far and wide knew her for many reasons. She was the "Pickle Lady" for many years, selling canning pickles to people and to Gedney. She was the "Knitting Queen" until only recently, hand-crafting intricately patterned items for hundreds of people. She made krumkake for many occasions and even sold them to a bakery in Minneapolis in the 60s. She would never turn down the opportunity to play Bingo or Scrabble. But her ultimate hobby was traveling the world either with family, friends, or new friends she'd meet on the trips. She was interested in people—and their stories—from all walks of life. Berit never went anywhere without striking up a conversation with a stranger, who'd be a new friend by the time they parted. She could travel halfway around the world and encounter someone she knew or was related to someone she knew. Her faith was an important part of Berit's life, from the time she was young until her death. She loved to go to church and was able to attend services regularly until just recently. Berit was preceded in death by brothers Kaare, Leif, Ottar, Ragnar, Atle, Øistein, Kjell, sisters Rutha and Kari and husbands Odd and Hank. She is survived by her daughters Anne Hauge of Lewiston, Idaho, Karin (Dennis Anderson) Becker of Cambridge and Monica (David) Ahlman of Isanti; grandchildren, Lina Becker, Katie Becker, Keith (Kristy) Becker, Erik Ahlman, Kai Ahlman and Brett Lord; great-grandchildren Tia, Amy, Gabriel and Angela Becker; Hank's children Judy, Shirley, Debbie, Cindy, Jackie, Mary and Allan and their families; and a host of other relatives and wonderful friends in the U.S. and Norway.