Bernie was born March 30, 1933 in Goldfield, Iowa, at the farm home, to MJ and Jennie Siemens.  Bernie married Mary Van Meetren, who he met while visiting his sister in Minneapolis. After marriage, Bernie enlisted in the Army and was located in Germany for part of his time.  He went to tank school for mechanics which served him well throughout his life.  Once out of the army, the couple moved to Goldfield, Iowa where Bernie farmed until 1972. Bernie was active in the National Farmers Organization trying to help farmers be recognized for their hard work and to get fair prices for crops and livestock.

The family relocated to Onamia, MN where they bought and ran the Onamia Motel and Bernie worked as the Bus Supervisor for the school. After retirement, they moved to Chester, MN to be closer to family.  Bernie became very active in the little community until the couple moved to Arbor Terrace in 2018.

Bernie had farming in his blood and was most interested in Oliver tractors.  He would buy and restore many of them, taking them apart piece by piece and repainting them so they looked brand new.

Bernie lost his wife Mary, of over 65 years, in May 2020.  He is survived by his daughters, Jane (Mike) Geiser and Connie (Asmer) Naim of Rochester and sons Thomas (Carol) Siemens of Coon Rapids, Michael (Lori) of Swannanoa, NC; grandchildren Jacob, Rachel, Jenny, Selena, Kumail, Rafiya, Saniya, Jeremiah, Kaysha, Hannah, Abigail and Moriah and many great grandchildren.

There will be a private family service later at Fort Snelling where both Bernie and Mary will be closer to family.  We want to thank the staff of Samaritan Bethany and St. Croix Hospice for the care they gave to our father, especially in his last days.

Memorials are preferred to St. Croix Hospice who were wonderful to Bernie in the last several months.