AUGUSTA – Leo Joseph Berger, 87, died peacefully Jan. 31, 2012, holding his wife’s hand and giving her one last glance. He died of congestive heart failure at Togus Veteran’s Medical Center. Leo was born Aug. 29, 1924, in Fall River, Mass., to Eli Berger and Marie (Gagnon) Berger.
His family moved to Maine when he was 2 and it was in Maine that he stayed for the remainder of his life. His father died when he was only 11 and soon thereafter he left school to help support his mother and two brothers. Leo worked for Great Northern Paper Co. in the Moosehead lakes area. He met his beautiful bride-to-be at Pittston Farm and married Joyce Kennedy, Jan. 18, 1947. They just celebrated their 65th anniversary. To describe Leo and all his accomplishments would be impossible here, but he will be remembered fondly by all who knew him. Leo was a patriarch in every sense of the word. Not only did he raise nine children with Joyce, he also was grandfather to 14 and great-grandfather to four; truly a tribe! He carried himself with dignity and character – lots of that! He worked hard to provide for his family, enjoying his time as a heavy equipment operator. He told many a tale of his pranks and antics while working for H. E. Sergeant and the men who were building Interstate 95. He also later worked for the state of Maine as an inspector and surveyor. Leo not only deeply loved his family, but all people. His open-heartedness moved him to “adopt” many more into his already large family. His outgoing nature, storytelling, endless joking and generosity made it easy to be drawn to him. He loved talking to people, sharing his knowledge and experience in life, also his faith and challenging others to think about what was truly important. He wasn’t above quizzing fellow believers on little-known facts, helping to sharpen their faith and knowledge. His warmhearted, caring ways made him easy to approach as an elder in the congregation. He will be remembered for his honest, forthright and bold witnessing for his God, Jehovah. It energized him and he felt it was the greatest of privileges to share with others the wonderful hope in the Bible.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joyce; nine children, Ida Estabrook of Monmouth, David and his wife, Lynette, Bruce and his wife, Janet, all of Augusta, Edward and his wife, Valerie, of Randolph, Anne Arbore, Brenda Berger, Jessica Berger, all of Manchester, Elizabeth and her husband, Bill, of Readfield and Marie Dexter and her husband, Don, of Arkansas; 13 grandchildren, Adam, Alex, Lucas, Bradley, Kelly, Erin and Brian Berger, John and Gustavis Estabrook, Nicole and Derek Hudson, Zachary and Aric Brown; four great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews; and his brother, Eli Berger of Winthrop. He was predeceased by his parents; brother, Raoul; sons-in-law, Carl Estabrook and John Arbore; and granddaughter, Rachel Duplessis Mayer.
A memorial of Leo’s life will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 36 Eastern Ave., Augusta. We hope that you will be there and see how loved he was.