Date of Birth:
Friday, April 9, 1948
Date of Death:
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Age:
70 years old

Lois Mary Bergman

Lois Mary (Dubbels) Bergman lived her life with passion and joy, and without the confines of social norms or expectations. She followed her heart in all things and lead a truly extraordinary life. She passed on from this life on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. She will be deeply missed.

Lois married twice, first to Eugene Gavin in 1969, and in 1976 to Peter Bergman. Lois and Peter were married for 11 years and had a daughter together. Lois was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her daughter, Mahin (Mike) Hamilton of St. Paul; grandchildren, Grace, Ruby, and Kaitlin of Saint Paul; her brother, David (Aileen) Dubbels of Kasson; and many beloved family and friends.

Lois was born on April 9, 1948 in Rochester to Gerald M. and Virginia B. (Foster) Dubbels. She was raised on her family farm in Salem Corners. Her elementary education took place in the country schoolhouse there. She graduated from Byron High School in 1966 and then attended Concordia College in St. Paul. She graduated there with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and pursued a career in teaching. She did her student teaching on a small island off the coast of South Carolina, during the midst of desegregation. Lois returned to Minnesota to earn a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Educational Psychology from Winona State University in 1976. In 1983, Lois won a hard battle against cancer which fueled her passion for life and travel. She and her husband Peter, along with their daughter, then moved to Honduras in 1984. They lived and taught there for two years before returning to the US. She then moved to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and worked at the St. Francis Indian School. She fell in love with the native culture and was blessed to be invited into the Lakota community as an adopted sister. In 1990, Lois returned to Minnesota to continue her career in Social Work with Pine County. A life-long learner and healer, she also studied homeopathy at Northwest Academy of Homeopathy, and became a Homeopath in April of 2007. Lois had health struggles most of her life, which led her to alternative medicine and homeopathy. In caring for her own health, she developed many health strategies that she generously shared with homeopathic colleagues. Lois had a great love of writing. She was an author and editor of multiple publications. Lois was a lifelong member and champion of the Grammar Police. She was a member of the Minnesota Homeopathic Association. She was also a long-time practitioner of Reflexology and a Reiki Master. She was involved with multiple non-profit organizations, including Open Arms MN, Relentless, and the Rural AIDS Action Network.

Lois lived her life with an outpouring of love and kindness toward everyone she encountered. Her laugh was infectious, her kindness was without bounds, and she gave the very best “big squishy” bear hugs, ever. Lois embraced all people as unique and special creations of a loving God. Raised in the Lutheran church, she became a devoted Baha’i in 1976. Lois had a love of travel, as she wanted to see life through the eyes of others and celebrate the differences that abound across this world.

She cared about everyone and had a gifted way of making everyone she met feel special. Lois knew how to break down peoples barriers and bring them joy. She was the nicest, sweetest, most caring person. Lois was a healer to the core, always wanting to make people more comfortable. She lived simply, never concerned with wealth or status, and was giving to a fault. She loved cooking for a crowd and never forgot her farm upbringing by saying often, “If you run out of food, you didn’t make enough!”

The Baha’i Funeral Service for Lois will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home with Marty Klann officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service in the chapel. Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens of Rochester.

“Mitakuye Oyasin” (Lakota: “all my relations”)

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Lois’s daughter, Mahin Hamilton.