Mary Bergman

Mary Bergman

1948-09-24 2019-07-05

Mary Louise Bergman (Andrews)      Written by Andrew Hutchinson On Sunday July 5, 2020 a Celebration of life for Mary was held at Earth Spirit Lodge in Bayfield Colorado, exactly a year after her passing. Mary was born on September 24, 1948 in St. Cloud Minnesota to Dale and Esther Andrews (Reed)  Mary was the third of four children. She had two older brothers, Steve and Neil, and a younger brother Lary.  The family moved and lived for a short time in Louisiana, followed by another move to Wheat Ridge, Colorado where they stayed throughout the rest of Mary's childhood.  While growing up in CO, Mary had a very close relationship with her father, and also met her lifelong friend, Mary Kay Singley, whose family lived next door. After graduating from Wheat Ridge High School in 1966 Mary attended University of Northern Colorado in Greeley CO. where she received her bachelor's degree in three years, followed by her master's degree in one year.  After earning her masters, Mary moved to St. Cloud MN, the same town she had been born in, and became a full time college professor teaching history at St. Cloud State University. Mary met her first husband, Don Bergman, a fellow teacher whom she decided to travel with in the late 1970's and early 1980's.  They lived in the outback of Australia for one year, then on to Cairo Egypt in order to teach.  It was while teaching at the American College in Cairo that Mary met and befriended a young man named Steve Kerr.  Steve's father was President of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon but was tragically assassinated by a pair of gunmen in 1984. Steve eventually went on to be a star basketball player for the University of Arizona while in college, and the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs while in the NBA.  After retirement from game play Steve became the general manager for the Phoenix Suns and is now the current coach of the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.  Mary often spoke of her friendship with Steve highly and meaningfully throughout the rest of her life. Eventually Mary and Don moved to Arizona where she earned her PhD in Curriculum Studies from Northern Arizona University and lived in both Tucson and Sierra Vista in southern AZ while serving as a school principal.  Around this time her marriage to Don ended. In the early 1990's  Mary met David Williams, a practicing attorney at an education conference, and they soon bought a home together in Tempe, Arizona where they were married in May of 1991. On February 3rd, 1992 Mary gave birth to her son and only child, Andrew.  Her marriage to David ended, and Mary and Andrew lived in Scottsdale Arizona for a few years then moved further north to Prescott Valley Arizona in l999.  Mary bought a beautiful house  where Andrew would spend the rest of his childhood growing up in. Mary finished out her career in education by serving as a school principal once more, followed by being hired as a personnel director for the Humboldt Unified School District before finally retiring in the  summer of 2004. Though Mary did a fantastic job taking care of Andrew and their lovable West Highland Terrier dogs over the next decade, severe lower back pain continuously plagued Mary's health.  Mary had to eventually relocate to an assisted living facility in January of 2017, where she received excellent care and support over the next two years. Mary passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of July 5th, 2019, and her legacy continues to live on through Earth Spirit Lodge, the property Andrew and his husband, Alaric Hutchinson, now own and operate just outside of Bayfield CO. Mary is remembered by her many friends and family members as being the most intelligent, tough, and trailblazing woman in both her personal and professional life.   She secretly loved to be silly and make others laugh, and above all, a tirelessly devoted mother who cared for her son more than anything else in this world. Mary is so missed, and Mary is so loved.  

tribute by Mary Kay Harrell

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