Suzanne Kay "Suzie" Bergstedt

Suzanne "Suzie" Kay (Anderson) Bergstedt was born on January 11, 1982, to Leslie "Les" and Bernadette "Berni" (Lumsden) Anderson in Havre, MT. She joined her brother Scott, her sister Angela, and four years later, her brother Michael followed.

Ever since Suzie accepted Jesus at the age of 5, she continued to grow in her love for the Lord. Everything in her life was shaped by her faith, from her musical talent to her ability to love others richly and deeply.

Music doesn't come naturally to everyone, but Suzie lived and breathed it. Even at the age of three, it was obvious to anyone who knew her that Suzie was incredibly gifted. Her sister Angela fondly referred to her as a "songbird", and rightly so. Writing music came easily to Suzie. She was able to play by ear and excelled at leading worship for her church youth group as a teenager. As she grew up, several opportunities arose for Suzie to continue doing what she loved–she led several worship sets for Bible camps and eventually, for Sunday services. In Havre, she even held a concert in her hometown church's sanctuary, where she performed songs she wrote.

Though some might have taken credit for this kind of gift, or become prideful, Suzie did not. She sang and played straight from her heart. She knew that her purpose was solely to glorify God, not to impress others. Every time she led worship for a Sunday service, she prayerfully selected every song with the help of the Holy Spirit. She never took her gift for granted, and she always practiced and prepared thoroughly, although she was talented enough to do without.

Before every service and before every practice, she gathered the worship team together and prayed that God would help them to honor Him. She wasn't perfect, and she made mistakes, but she knew her identity came from Christ, not her successes and failures. Throughout her battle with cancer, she sang through laughter, tears, and pain. Even when she was weak and tired, or hurting, she never stopped singing to Jesus.

She attended elementary school in Havre through fifth grade and completed the rest of her education at home. Being homeschooled shaped her passion for education and fueled her desire to homeschool her children later on.

Suzie was an excellent teacher; quick to forgive and give grace, even when her children were reluctant to learn. She didn't know everything and didn't pretend to–she often said her favorite part of homeschooling was "learning with her kids." She cherished every moment she spent with her children, whether it was reading out loud to her kids or helping them do science experiments.

Because she was able to homeschool her children, she was able to include the Bible as one of the main subjects. Ensuring that her children grew up to love and fear the Lord was one of the most important things to Suzie. Every morning, the first thing she did for school was read her kids Bible stories and let them illustrate the stories in a notebook. This influenced each of her children greatly, and all three of them are in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Later on, when she felt God's direction to place her oldest daughter, Sara, in public school, she obeyed, although it was hard. When others asked her if she was ever going to put her other two children in public school, she often said that the only way that was going to happen was if "God pried her fingers off of them". She continued to homeschool her younger two children, Hallie and Ethan, for 4 more years, until she was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in the fall of 2024.

Throughout Suzie's growing-up years, she had several jobs. She was a diligent worker and was loved and appreciated everywhere she went. The places she worked in Havre were McDonalds, Dave's Downtown Greenhouse, Petal Pusher Floral Shop, Bearpaw Credit Union, and MSU Northern (at admissions). After she moved to Sidney in her mid-twenties, she kept a job at the Yellowstone Bank.

Dakota Hills Christian Camp was where Suzie met and fell in love with Kelly Bergstedt of Savage, MT. They both counseled and led worship together for a week of camp, and later that summer, they began dating. After dating for about three years, they were married on June 3rd, 2006, in Havre, MT. They continued to serve at Bible camps together even after they were married. Kelly counseled several more times, as did Suzie, and they both led countless worship sets at Eastern Montana Bible Camp together.

Suzie was a beloved wife and mother, adored by her husband and three children: Sara, Hallie, and Ethan. She made sure they knew just how much she valued them, saying "I love you" and "I'm proud of you" every chance she could. She made sure to give out "goodnight hugs". Sara fondly remembers the times Suzie would stay up late with her, listening to her rant about everything from boys to things God was teaching her.

Even when Suzie was in Rochester, Minnesota, receiving care from Mayo Clinic, she made sure to be a part of her children's lives. She live streamed every single one of Sara's volleyball games and made sure to text her afterwards. She FaceTimed her children whenever she could, and took time to call each one individually, asking them how school was that day and wanted to know how things were going at home.

The yearlong battle with cancer was not easy, and Suzie never pretended otherwise. From the beginning, she was told that her cancer was rare and aggressive, and she knew well that it was an "ugly monster," as she liked to call it. Yet she never doubted that God could heal her and continued to pray for healing up until the end.

Suzie was very open about the grim diagnosis, and she was truthful about how she was really doing. She let her kids see her cry and didn't hide it when she was scared. She valued raw and real honesty–she often asked her family what they were feeling, and "fine" was not an answer she accepted.

Through Suzie's eyes, even a hospital room was a mission field. She never wasted an opportunity to share her faith. A couple weeks before her passing, she shared Jesus with a nurse, and helped her download the Bible app on her phone. Ever since that night, she prayed earnestly that "Nurse Nina" would accept Jesus Christ someday. Additionally, she wrote down her doctors' names on sticky notes and stuck them to the wall as a visual reminder to pray for their salvation.

Suzie was a light in the darkness to everyone she met, and her family is confident that the work she did throughout her life is not in vain.

On November 30th, 2025, Suzie went to be with Jesus forever. She is singing with the angels, and she is free of pain and heartache forever. There is no cancer in heaven.

Suzie was preceded in death by her grandparents Dale and Joyce Lumsden and Palmer and Eleanor Anderson; niece Heaven Ivy Anderson; and several aunts and uncles.

She is survived by her husband, Kelly Bergstedt of Savage MT and their three children, Sara, Hallie and Ethan Bergstedt; her parents, Leslie "Les" and Bernadette "Berni" (Lumsden) Anderson of Havre, MT; her brother Scott (Jenn) Anderson of Havre MT; her sister Angela (Andy) Morris of Havre, MT; her brother Michael (JoAnna) Anderson of Kalispell, MT; her in-laws Clifford "Cliff" and Linda (Fried) Bergstedt of Savage, MT; her brother in-law Joel (Gail) Bergstedt of Kalispell, MT; her brother in-law Loren Bergstedt of Minneapolis, MN; nephew Warren Keough of Havre, MT; nieces and nephew Anna, Emery, Beth, and Abigail Bergstedt of Kalispell, MT; nephews Michael, Malachi, Jayce, and Toby Morris of Havre, MT; niece and nephew Johnny and Erika Anderson of Kalispell MT; aunts and uncles Sandy (Jim) Greytak of Havre, MT and Evon Corrigan of Wasila, AK; and numerous cousins.

Lovingly written by Suzie's daughter, Sara Bergstedt (age 16)

Memorial Contribution
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Suzie's name to Christian Healthcare Ministries (chministries.org/give).