Gida Berry

Gida Berry, age 95, of Ulen, MN died Saturday, August 14, 2010 at Viking Manor Nursing Home under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. Gida Hilde was born March 28, 1915 on a farm near Ulen, MN to parents, Gulbrand and Bergit Hilde, pioneer settlers from Flå Hallingdal Norway. Gida was third from the youngest in the family. She had one sister, Theoline and nine brothers, namely, Hanord, Melvin, Gill, Helmer, Silas, Oliver, Bennie, Amon and Carl. She attended the Sanford School, District 56, in Hagen Township through the eighth grade. Her first teacher was Agnes Staven Fevig.The first job for Agnes was to teach Gida the English language. Gida said that she will always remember Agnes as the best teacher she ever had. Norwegian was the first language for many families in the Ulen area at that time. Gida was confirmed in 1930 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ulen and by that time, confirmation classes were in English. After finishing school, Gida worked for area families including Hanord and Amanda Hilde, doing housework and farm chores. Later, she moved to Fargo and worked for a Jewish family who owned a Department store. In 1937, Gida moved to Mandan, ND and worked at the Lewis and Clark Hotel. She became acquainted with Burt Clementich, a salesman from Minot, ND. He was a very good salesman and they were married in 1938. They moved to Aberdeen, Washington that same year. In 1939, they moved to Orange, California and resided at 405 S. Olive St. for many years. Gida worked for Rosenberg Bros. & Company, a walnut and dried fruit packing house. Gida called it the “nut house”. Burt was a salesman for Penn Furniture Co. in Santa Ana. In later years, Gida worked at Rachelle Laboratories in Long Beach until her retirement. Although she had no children of her own, she had experience in raising teenagers. From 1947 to 1952, her nephews, David and Donnie Hilde lived with her and went to high school in Orange. In 1957, her niece, Marie Lahey Gross, lived with her for awhile. In 1960, Gida married Vard Berry and they lived in Whittier, CA. She had another experience raising her teenage step-son, Don Berry, during the “hippie” years of the 1960’s and 70’s. Gida was a good aunt and “mother’ to her teenagers. Gida loved to travel and made several trips from California to Ulen starting in the 1940's and continuing every year until she finally moved back for good. Gida and husband Vard, travelled with a tour group to Russia. Later she accompanied her nephew, Harry Hilde and wife, Orpha, to Norway. There she got to meet relatives for the first time. Her father’s sister, Anne, was the only family member that remained in Norway. She corresponded with family members there for many years. Gida also went on several Caribbean cruises and met Tennessee Ernie Ford on one of them. Gida seemed to be in places where she would occasionally meet a Hollywood celebrity. One time she was seated next to Burt Reynolds at a banquet and had a wonderful time visiting with him. Gida also met John Wayne’s wife, Pilar, whom she met through mutual friends. She also met Crocodile Dundee on a trip to Laughlin, Nevada. Another well know personality that she knew real well, was Rev. Robert Schuller. Gida remembers him when he first started his ministry using the Orange Drive-in Theater. During that time, Gida and husband Burt, owned a travel trailer rental business. Rev. Schuller would often rent a travel trailer for weekend trips. She recalls how Rev. Schuller’s ministry reached a milestone with the construction of the all glass and steel, Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. Gida loved going to the elaborate Christmas and Easter pageants there. On Sundays, her TV set was always tuned to Rev. Schuller’s “Hour of Power” church service. In May, 2001, Gida decided to move back home to Ulen to be near her extended family. At that time, she had 2 nieces and 13 nephews, many of whom lived in the Ulen and Fargo-Moorhead area. Gida moved into the Fjord Apartments and later to the new Park Haven Apartments. She said the decision to move from California to Ulen was the right one. Gida commented that the health care she received from the MeritCare clinic in Ulen, was far superior to that in Hemet, CA. In January 2006, she became a resident at the Viking Manor. Gida liked to get into her “buggy”, as she called the wheel chair, and go for coffee and cake with her nieces and nephews when they came to visit. Gida was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, nine brothers, one sister, four nephews and two nieces. Surviving her are nephews, Harry (Orpha) Hilde, Gisle Hilde, Wallace (Marian) Hilde, James (Leona) Hilde, Leslie (Merna) Hilde, David (Lori) Hilde, Donald (Kaye) Hilde, Ernest (Twila) Hilde, Waldo (Norma) Hilde, Bernie (Earleen) Hilde, Leo (Sharon) Lahey, nieces, Mary Lou (Marlyn) Syverson and Marie (Ray) Gross and numerous great nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 am on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ulen. Visitation will take place at the church one hour prior to the service on Tuesday.

Gida Berry

March 28, 1915 - August 14, 2010