A memorial service for 80-year-old John W. Berdell Jr. of Fairfield, California, was held on Friday morning, September 11, 2015, at Long Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery in rural St. James.
John Berdell passed away at his home in Fairfield on March 18, 2015.
He was born and raised on the family farm near Odin, Minnesota, the son of John Sr. and Myrtle Berdell. John graduated from St. James High School in 1952, and joined the United States Army. While serving in the Army, he learned engineering skills that eventually led him to California. He worked on the Nike missile sites at Travis Air Force Base and Cement Hill in Fairfield from 1960 until their deactivation in 1971. John then transferred to the Presidio in San Francisco, California, retiring 36 years later. He was also a volunteer firefighter with the Cordelia (California) Fire Department from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s.
Survivors include his wife, Judith, of Belmont California; daughters, Sharon Berdell of Fairfield, Deborah (Dale) Stott of St. George, Utah and Rebecca (Dale) Delucchi of Santa Clara, California; a stepdaughter and stepson, Margaret Kling and Matt (Suzanne) Medrano; a brother, Jerry (Lola) Berdell of Odin; a stepbrother, John (Rebecca) Swanson of Benson, North Carolina; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Preceding him in death were his parents; stepmother, Marie Berdell; stepsisters, Carla Zenor and Helen Meyer and stepson, Nat Medrano.
