Loren Arthur Berge, PhD

Loren Arthur Berge died the evening of November 20, 2025, due to a sudden cardiac event, with his wife, Carol, at his side. Loren was born August 10, 1944, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as the only child of Arthur and Marjorie Berge. He grew up in the small town of Campbellsport, Wisconsin. At the age of four, he accompanied his parents on an extended trip around the western United States and northern Mexico, where he first fell in love with the southwest. After graduating from Campbellsport High School in 1962, he attended Lakeland College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1966. The following fall he began graduate school at Iowa State University, transferring a year later to the University of Missouri, where, in 1972, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in chemistry with a specialty in radiochemistry. This was followed by a one-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Nebraska.

While at Lakeland College, Loren met Carol Warzyn. They were married on June 18, 1967, at Lake Edge United Church of Christ in Madison, Wisconsin.

Loren's professional career began as an assistant professor, serving as a one-year sabbatical leave replacement at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In the fall of 1974, he began his tenure as an assistant professor of chemistry at Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. Due to downsizing in the chemistry department in the spring of 1977, Loren left Olivet and obtained a position with the State of New Mexico Scientific Laboratory Division in Albuquerque. In this position he established and developed a radiochemistry section to test for levels of specific radioactive nuclides in New Mexico's public water systems, per the newly passed 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. He remained the supervisor of the radiochemistry section throughout the remainder of his career. Loren retired in 2006.

In the early years of his retirement, Loren baked lots of delicious bread, sweet rolls, and coffee cake and spent long hours working in his garden and with the fruit trees. In the later years, he stopped doing the baking but continued to spend long hours in the garden. This past summer, he had particular success with the tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers.

Loren is predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Marjorie Berge. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carol Berge, and his son Geoff Berge, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Words cannot adequately express his family's sincere gratitude to Dr. Sandoval and the incredible emergency room staff at Kaseman Presbyterian Emergency Room for their compassionate care of Loren.

A Memorial Service for Loren will be held on December 8, 2025, at 2:00 pm at FRENCH-Lomas. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your favorite charity in Loren's name.