Associate John D. Berger died Jan. 17, 2015 at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas with his children at his side.  He was 87.

John was born Nov. 20, 1927 in Detroit and was raised in Bay City, MI.  After graduating from high school in in Jan. 1946, he served in the U.S. Navy stationed in Guam and San Diego.  He returned to Bay City after the service and attended Bay City Junior College, graduating in 1952.

John married Hélène in 1953 and they settled in Denver, CO, where they raised their five children.

In 1979, John and his wife relocated to Las Vegas where he finally found his dream job.  He had a 10-year career in the casino industry, working in the poker room at the old MGM Hotel.  He served as the poker room manager there for seven years and retired in 1990.

Always busy in retirement, John spent several years volunteering as a relief caregiver for Nathan Adelson Hospice.  For 35 years, he was a devout parishioner at St. Viator Catholic Church.  He served his parish as an usher and reader, becoming a Eucharistic minister in 2004.  John became a Viatorian Associate in 2006.

A Memorial Mass was celebrated on Jan. 24, 2015 at St. Viator Catholic Church, followed by an informal lunch reception.  Burial was private.

Taken from an obituary written by Associate Connie Gerber