ROLLAND DAVID BERGER

ROLLAND DAVID

BERGER

Rolland David Berger died February 18, 2010, at the age of 86.

He was born on October 16, 1923 in Kasson, Minnesota to Marlo and Frances (Portz) Berger. His life was dedicated to service to country and community.

As a young man, Rolly interrupted his education at the University of Wisconsin to volunteer for the Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a flight engineer on B-29 airplanes and was stationed in the South Pacific until 1945.

In December 1945, he married Phyllis Cook and they both continued their educations at UW, Madison. Rolly earned his PhD in the field of Adult Education and Regional Planning in 1956. Throughout his college years, he taught planning and development at UW and was the Assistant Director for the Bureau of Community Development. Concurrently, he and Phyllis started a family and a farming operation. Their 87 acres on the outskirts of Madison provided a wonderful home for their three children as well as a chicken and egg operation and a small herd of heifers.

Rolly accepted a position as the Industrial Development Coordinator for the City of Milwaukee in 1956. As the liaison between the City and its manufacturers, he oversaw a steady increase in new industrial floor space and established their economic development program.

He knew that small businesses were the backbone of the economy and developed a new strategy to help put insolvent companies back on their feet. As Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin Development Credit Corporation, he provided management consulting and finance for more than 60 companies, with some going on to become national leaders in their fields.

His interest in regional planning and development led to new challenges and another move in 1967. In Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, he directed the Susquehanna Economic Development Association, which formed a council of governments in central Pennsylvania to address multi-jurisdictional problems. During his tenure as Executive Vice President, they sought consensus solutions to many issues such as health care, flood control, solid waste disposal, tourism, and transportation. Rolly also served as a lecturer in Sociology at Pennsylvania State University during this time.

The move to Chico in 1973 was precipitated by a long-held desire to find a home with an agreeable climate and which would attract other members of the family to join them. Chico fit the bill and also offered employment at CSU, Chico. Rolly began as the University's regional planner and he also taught planning and development in the Geography Department. Upon his retirement in 1982, he was awarded emeritus status.

Throughout his life and into retirement, Rolly sought to find real solutions to many of the problems we face instead of resorting to using quick fixes that just treat the symptoms. Characteristically, Rolly's last years were spent developing a community improvement strategy for Chico that would engage all its residents.

Rolly was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis. His children survive him: Kirk Berger and his wife, Ruth, Jana Lawton and her husband, David, and Jeffrey Berger and his partner, Mary Elsey. He has four grandsons, Ryan and Wade Berger, and Jesse and John Lawton, and one great-granddaughter, Kate Lawton. Also surviving are his brother, John Berger and wife, Viola, and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Nelson, all of Chico.

A Memorial is being held at the Chico Women's Club (592 E 3rd St.) on Friday, March 19, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. Family and friends are invited to share their thoughts and memories of Rolly.