Bruce Bergman, age 79, of Huron died Tuesday, February 16, 2016, at SunQuest Healthcare Center. His funeral service was held at 10:30 AM Saturday, February 20, at First United Methodist Church. Military honors were conducted by the Huron Veterans Council. Entombment was in the Restlawn Memory Gardens Mausoleum. Memorials may be directed to the Huron Hockey Association or the First United Methodist Church Foundation.
Bruce A. Bergman was born March 3, 1936, in Blair, Nebraska to Benard and Charlotte (Stender) Bergman. He graduated from Bennington High School in Bennington, Nebraska. Bruce served two years in the United States Army before beginning his career in telecommunications. He was employed by Northwestern Bell Telephone Company until the breakup, when he became an employee of AT & T, and later Lucent Technologies. He retired in December 1990 and started his own business, Bergman Telecom. Bruce officially retired in March 2001.
On June 10, 1962, he married Sharon Gilbert at First United Methodist Church in Huron. They made their home in Huron, where they raised their three sons and were active in church and community activities.
His sons' interest in the sport of hockey resulted in decades of service to the sport in the Huron community and also at the state level. Sharpening skates for his children and their friends evolved into sharpening skates for most young people involved in hockey in the Huron area, including occasional long-distance requests .His frustration with making ice without refrigeration evolved into research, procurement, installation and operation of equipment for a refrigeration system. He not only coached many teams, but he helped design many aspects of the rink and ice, including the round corners for the rinks, several improvements for resurfacing the rinks, and even the design and construction of the "Dakota Cup" and "Verdell Rice" state traveling trophies. He was often called the "Ice Man" for his determination to see that the "best ice" in the state was in Huron. Bruce was instrumental in the design of the new home for Huron Hockey in the Community Activities Center, which was named Bergman Arena in his honor in 2002. He served on the state hockey board and the state disciplinary committee for many years.
A quiet, unassuming man, Bruce worked behind the scenes, sharing his time and talents not only with Huron hockey, and in the community, but also in his church, First United Methodist of Huron. He volunteered countless hours with wiring, sound systems and other technologies, and he served on the building committee and art committee for the current church building, which was completed in 2003. Bruce had also taught Sunday school and served on the administrative board. His gift of woodworking was also shared in church with the construction of numerous faith chests which are presented to children at their baptism.
Bruce's skill with wood was truly an art. He not only had the skill with his hands and woodworking tools, but he had the gift to see how to use the imperfections and peculiarities in pieces of wood to make them into beautiful pieces of art He also used his woodworking skills to restore furniture. His sense of composition and how things all fit together also translated to an ability to "fix" almost everything, from small appliances in his home to the ice machines and equipment at the hockey rink.
Bruce was awarded the VFW's Community Service Award in 1991, and the Sertoma Club's Service to Mankind distinction in 2002. He was a member of the Huron Masonic Lodge, and was honored as the Outstanding Citizen by the Lodge in 2003. That same year he was inducted into the Huron Hockey All Stars Hall of Fame. Bruce had also served on the board of the Huron Telco Credit Union.
Grateful for having shared in his life are his family members, including his wife, Sharon of Huron; three sons, Rick (Karen) Bergman of Chaska, Minnesota, Terry (Kathy) Bergman of Elkhart, Indiana, and Jim Bergman of Huron; five grandchildren, Connor Bergman of Scottsdale, Arizona, Kyle Bergman of Chaska, Minnesota, Shelby Bergman of Sioux Falls, and Alex and Ben Bergman of Elkhart, Indiana; one brother, Bernard (Lynn) Bergman of Omaha, Nebraska; his brother-in-law, Lowell (Gaye) Gilbert of Conifer, Colorado; his sister-in-law, Mary Helen Bergman of Omaha, Nebraska; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Byron, Ralph and Don; two sisters-in-law, Betty and Myra; his parents-in-law; and two nieces and one nephew.