RICHARD D. "BUTCH" BERGERT, 72, of Cherokee, Iowa passed away Friday morning, February 19, 2016 at his home after a struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Memorial service will be held Monday, February 22nd at 10:30 a.m. at the Memorial Presbyterian Church in Cherokee. Pastor Caleb Plumb will officiate. There will be a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. at the Church on Monday. Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 21st from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home with the family present from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m.. It was his wish to be cremated. Burial will be at a later date in Oak Hill Cemetery in Cherokee. On line condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com


Butch was born April 8, 1943 to William and Elizabeth (Wallace) Bergert. Butch lived in rural Larrabee during his growing up years and graduated from Larrabee High School in 1961. Butch's time in 4H and Boy Scouts was very important to him and he was proud to have two grandsons carry on the Boy Scout tradition and become Eagle Scouts.
He was married to Marilyn Roach in 1963, together they had six children. He married Bette Burgers on May 31, 1986 at LeMars, Iowa and they had one child together.

He worked for the Illinois Central Railroad as a brakeman, at MHI dairy farm, at the Burlington Coachyard in Omaha, and he worked for Wilson's in Cherokee for 14 years. He was an insurance agent for Prudential Insurance and worked for Lindsey Soft Water. He then opened his own business in 1983, Bergert Water Conditioning, where he worked until his retirement in 2009. Butch was also a school bus driver for 22 years and owned and operated Northwest Antenna Service for many years.

Butch was an elder and member of the Memorial Presbyterian Church where he had served as a trustee and Sunday school teacher and was a member of the bell choir. Prior to this he was a member of the First Baptist Church for 20 years where he served as deacon.
Butch loved to spend time with family, as well as, playing cards, fishing, hunting, target shooting, and watching his favorite TV shows. He was always there to watch the kids participate in their sporting events and enjoyed watching the grandkids in their events when possible.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Donnie, Bob and an unnamed infant, and his father-in-law, John Burgers.

Remaining to mourn his loss are his wife Bette of Cherokee, Iowa; seven children: Shawn (Brian Bunkers) Bergert of San Bernardino, CA, Tami Collins of Cherokee, Trevis (Nicole) Bergert of Tullahoma, TN, Ellisha (Craig) Bennink of Cedar Rapids, IA, Payt (Rachel) Bergert of Shellsburg, IA, Lucas (Nicole) Bergert of Belgrade, MT and Zack (Abby) Bergert of Thornton, CO.; 15 grandchildren: Isabella Collins; Caleb, Nathan (Rachel), Hannah, Sarah, Abram and Eli Bergert; Tyler, Garret and Gabrielle Bennink; Jonah, Isaiah and Alaina Bergert; and Mikayla and Ariel Bergert; Brother, Ken (Eileen) Bergert of Humboldt, IA; Brothers and sisters-in-law: John and Judi DeJong, Mitch and Jan Burgers, Marv and Jan Sturing, Alan and Sandy Burgers and mother-in-law, Nellie Burgers, as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent to Cherokee Regional Medical Center Hospice.