Mary Anne Berger, age 71, of Carroll, died Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at her home in Carroll.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 21, 2024 at Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll. Fr. Terry Roder of St. John Catholic Church in Arcadia will preside. Casket Bearers will be Mary Anne’s family. Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery in Arcadia.
Visitation will begin at 1p.m. and continue until the time of the service.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll, and online condolences may be left for Mary Anne’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
On an autumn day in 1954, Howard and Norma (Schmitz) Berger walked into Omaha’s St. James Orphanage. Escorted into a room full of toddlers and children playing and carrying on, the couple spotted a little 2-year-old girl on the floor in the center of the room. Compared to all the other active tykes, this little girl seemed to be more weighed down by an uncommon force of gravity – a condition soon revealed to be cerebral palsy.
Nevertheless, the little girl must have had a spark in her eyes and a determined, life- affirming force in her body. Whether she reached out to Norma and Howard, and/or verbally connected with them, an emotional bond was formed. And so, on November 12, 1954 the little 2-year-old first seen in the center of a room at St James Orphanage officially became, Mary Anne Berger, daughter of Howard and Norma (Schmitz) Berger.
She lived her younger years with her parents and brother, moving to several foreign countries due to her father’s job.
She retired and settled in Carroll, Iowa, living on her own until the last few years. She had several care givers, that became lifelong friends and especially Barb Goodman, who became family.
Mary Anne always enjoyed people stopping to visit and especially enjoyed a good game of Yahtzee, but only if it didn’t interfere with the Young & the Restless.
Even though she had struggles of her own, she was the first one to ask how you and your family were doing. An amazing woman with great strength and a memory to beat all.
She is survived by her nieces and nephews: Alder (Astrid), Sarah, Adrian and Aaron. Great-nieces and nephews, Runa, Hazel Arabella, and Douglas. Sister-in-law, Jalene Berger.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and brother Douglas.