Obit & Bio: VandeBerg, Gale (1920-2020)
Transcriber: Janet
Surnames: Alton, Bergland, Diesslin. Leidheiser, Raine, Seefeldt, VandeBerg, Witt
Gale VandeBerg
November 10, 1920 — November 16, 2020
Madison - Gale L. VandeBerg, age 100, a University of Wis. Professor Emeritus
and long-time UW administrator, died on November 16, 2020. He celebrated his
100th birthday on November 10th with family. The 4th of 5 children, he was born
Nov. 10, 1920 in the farm home of his parents, Horace and Fern (Alton) VandeBerg,
in the Clark County, Wisconsin Town of York. He attended the nearby 1-room
Oriole Hill School and graduated
from the Neillsville High School in 1938. Gale married his high school
sweetheart, Zona Raine, in 1943, shortly after receiving his B.S. Degree from
UW-Madison. For the next 2 years he was the Dorchester, WI High School teacher
of agriculture.
In 1945 he was invited by the UW to join the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) as a UW-Extension agent for Outagamie County, with office in the Appleton Court House. He served there as a 4-H and agricultural agent until 1954. In 1951 he was awarded 1 of 4 national Graduate Fellowships sponsored by The Ford-Ferguson Foundation. On leave, he attended Cornell University in NY, receiving his MS Degree in 1952.
He was invited to join the Madison faculty in 1954, as the nation’s first CES Training Specialist. In 1956 he was awarded a Fellowship in the newly established National Center For Advanced Study in Extension Administration, sponsored by The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. There in January of 1957 he was granted the nation’s first PhD in Extension Administration. He was then invited to serve as a professor in that National Center. For the next 5 years he taught graduate courses, advised MS and doctoral candidates, and conducted workshops in various regions of the nation, for Extension administrators. In 1962 he returned to the CES as its Assistant Director, serving in administrative positions for 21 years, until his retirement in 1983: as the Assistant State Director until 1966 when the new UW-Extension Institution was created; for 4 years he served there as a Dean. In 1970 he was named as the Dean and State Director of the CES and concurrently as Assistant Chancellor of UWEX - positions held until his 1983 retirement. During his long tenure Gale was prevailed upon by the Universities of Penn State, Vermont, and West Virginia, to conduct evaluations of their “Outreach Services” and to provide recommendations for their future. He taught summer schools and served as speaker at several universities, and at state and national events. He chaired Extension’s National Program/Policy Committee in the late 70s. In 1980 he was commissioned, with Federal funds, to guide a large prestigious national committee to do a year-long overview of the CES, and then report to The U.S. Congress. In 1983 he was elected President of the 10,000 member National Extension professional fraternity, Epsilon Sigma Phi - serving a lead role in 1984 in the establishment of the National ESP Foundation, and also The Wisconsin ESP Foundation. Gale was also active in state and local affairs, serving as a PTA president, Sunday School teacher, president of the City of Appleton Junior Chamber Of Commerce and a VP of the State JCC.
He served for several years on the Board of the Madison Methodist Hospital, was active in the Madison West Kiwanis Club; served for years as show-chair for the Badger State Dahlia Society; served several years as the Chair of the Governor’s State Rural Development Committee; and for 11 years as Chair of the State 4-H Upham Woods campsite properties and programs at Wisconsin Dells. Gale was proud of his major gift to the UW Pyle Center, where “The Gale VandeBerg Auditorium” carries his name. Among many honors received were Extension’s highest “National Ruby Award” in 1978; the City of Appleton “Man Of The Year” award in 1949, and in 1979, “The USDA Superior Service Award,” presented in Washington D.C.. In retirement, Gale morphed into an author and poet, publishing 8 books and scores of poems. Through it all Gale remained an energetic family man, devoted to his wife of 67 years and his 3 children and their families - including trips to famed places in Wisconsin, U.S. and beyond.
He was active with his children in
4-H county and state fair activities. He helped organize Madison’s first city
4-H Club (The Diligent Doers). Gale joined his sons in developing a unique
fancy-pigeon hobby, showing winning Jacobin and Fantail breeds at state and
national exhibitions. He enjoyed playing the piano with his “kids,” one of whom
became a professional musician. Gale was an avid gardener, at one time raising
100 varieties of dahlias. After retirement he and his wife enjoyed selling their
flowers and garden produce at the Farmers’ Market on the Capitol Square. Gale is
survived by his daughter Sharon (Ron) Witt of Kenosha, 2 sons, John (Jane)
VandeBerg of San Antonio, TX, and Jerry (Keiko) VandeBerg of Madison; 7
grandchildren – Lisa Witt of Reedsburg, Christina (Witt) Farrington of Kenosha,
Amy (Witt) Lueth of Hartland, Vanessa (Witt) Antonacci of Watertown, Jason
(Alicia) VandeBerg and James (Lauren) VandeBerg of San Antonio, and Jay
VandeBerg of Madison; and by 14 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by
his wife, Zona, in 2010, his sister Bernice (VandeBerg) Egger, and his brothers
- Harold (Eunice), Loyd (Ethyl), and Russel (Erline).
A family service will be held privately due to Covid restrictions. A Memorial
Service is being planned for later at Madison’s Bethany United Methodist Church.
Suggested memorials include The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation-VandeBerg Leadership
Fund, at 702 Langdon Street, Madison 53706; or Bethany United Methodist
Church-Music Fund, 3910 Mineral Point Road, Madison, 53711; or The York Center
United Methodist Church and Cemetery Association, PO Box 55, Loyal, WI 54446.
*****************************
Obit: Gale VandeBerg (1920-2020)
Published on November 18, 2020 by Lyssa Seefeldt
We received news this morning that Gale Vandenberg, long-time employee in
Extension in various roles throughout his career, passed away on November 16,
2020.
Madison – Gale L. VandeBerg, age 100, a Univ. of Wis. Professor Emeritus and
long-time UW administrator, died on November 16, 2020. He celebrated his 100th
birthday on November 10th with family. The 4th of 5 children, he was born Nov.
10, 1920 in the farm home of his parents,
Horace and Fern (Alton) VandeBerg, in the Clark County Town of York.
He attended the nearby 1-room Oriole Hill School and graduated from the Neillsville High School in 1938. Gale married his high school sweetheart, Zona Raine, in 1943, shortly after receiving his B.S. Degree from UW-Madison.
For the next 2 years he was the Dorchester, WI High School teacher of
agriculture. In 1945 he was invited by the UW to join the Cooperative Extension
Service (CES) as a UW-Extension agent for Outagamie County, with office in the
Appleton Court House. He served there as a 4-H and agricultural agent until
1954. In 1951 he was awarded 1 of 4 national Graduate Fellowships sponsored by
The Ford-Ferguson Foundation. On leave, he attended Cornell University in NY,
receiving his MS Degree in 1952. He was invited to join the Madison faculty in
1954, as the nation’s first CES Training Specialist. In 1956 he was awarded a
Fellowship in the newly established National Center For Advanced Study in
Extension Administration, sponsored by The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. There in
January of 1957 he was granted the nation’s first PhD in Extension
Administration. He was then invited to serve as a professor in that National
Center. For the next 5 years he taught graduate courses, advised MS and doctoral
candidates, and conducted workshops in various regions of the nation, for
Extension administrators. In 1962 he returned to the CES as its Assistant
Director, serving in administrative positions for 21 years, until his retirement
in 1983: as the Assistant State Director until 1966 when the new UW-Extension
Institution was created; for 4 years he served there as a Dean. In 1970 he was
named as the Dean and State Director of the CES and concurrently as Assistant
Chancellor of UWEX – positions held until his 1983 retirement.
During his long tenure Gale was prevailed upon by the Universities of Penn
State, Vermont, and West Virginia, to conduct evaluations of their “Outreach
Services” and to provide recommendations for their future. He taught summer
schools and served as speaker at several universities, and at state and national
events. He chaired Extension’s National Program/Policy Committee in the late
70s. In 1980 he was commissioned, with Federal funds, to guide a large
prestigious national committee to do a year-long overview of the CES, and then
report to The U.S. Congress. In 1983 he was elected President of the 10,000
member National Extension professional fraternity, Epsilon Sigma Phi – serving a
lead role in 1984 in the establishment of the National ESP Foundation, and also
The Wisconsin ESP Foundation.
Gale was also active in state and local affairs, serving as a PTA president,
Sunday School teacher, president of the City of Appleton Junior Chamber Of
Commerce and a VP of the State JCC. He served for several years on the Board of
the Madison Methodist Hospital, was active in the Madison West Kiwanis Club;
served for years as show-chair for the Badger State Dahlia Society; served
several years as the Chair of the Governor’s State Rural Development Committee;
and for 11 years as Chair of the State 4-H Upham Woods campsite properties and
programs at Wisconsin Dells. Gale was proud of his major gift to the UW Pyle
Center, where “The Gale VandeBerg Auditorium” carries his name. Among many
honors received were Extension’s highest “National Ruby Award” in 1978; the City
of Appleton “Man Of The Year” award in 1949, and in 1979, “The USDA Superior
Service Award,” presented in Washington D.C..
In retirement, Gale morphed into an author and poet, publishing 8 books and
scores of poems. Through it all Gale remained an energetic family man, devoted
to his wife of 67 years and his 3 children and their families – including trips
to famed places in Wisconsin, U.S. and beyond. He was active with his children
in 4-H county and state fair activities. He helped organize Madison’s first city
4-H Club (The Diligent Doers). Gale joined his sons in developing a unique
fancy-pigeon hobby, showing winning Jacobin and Fantail breeds at state and
national exhibitions. He enjoyed playing the piano with his “kids,” one of whom
became a professional musician. Gale was an avid gardener, at one time raising
100 varieties of dahlias. After retirement he and his wife enjoyed selling their
flowers and garden produce at the Farmers’ Market on the Capitol Square.
Gale is survived by his daughter Sharon (Ron) Witt of Kenosha, 2 sons, John
(Jane) VandeBerg of San Antonio, TX, and Jerry (Keiko) VandeBerg of Madison; 7
grandchildren – Lisa Witt of Reedsburg, Christina (Witt) Farrington of Kenosha,
Amy (Witt) Lueth of Hartland, Vanessa (Witt) Antonacci of Watertown, Jason
(Alicia) VandeBerg and James (Lauren) VandeBerg of San Antonio, and Jay
VandeBerg of Madison; and by 14 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by
his wife, Zona, in 2010, his sister Bernice (VandeBerg) Egger, and his brothers
– Harold (Eunice), Loyd (Ethyl), and Russel (Erline).
A special thank you to the staff of Agrace HospiceCare for their compassionate
care and support.
A family service will be held privately due to Covid restrictions. A Memorial
Service is being planned for later at Madison’s Bethany United Methodist Church.
Suggested memorials include The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation-VandeBerg Leadership
Fund, at 702 Langdon Street, Madison 53706; or Bethany United Methodist
Church-Music Fund, 3910 Mineral Point Road, Madison, 53711; or The York Center
United Methodist Church and Cemetery Association, PO Box 55, Loyal, WI 54446.
*****************************
Bio: VandeBerg
Gale VandeBerg recognized in
Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development Hall of Fame
Published on November 23, 2014 by Jackie. Skins
Gale VandeBerg (with family) receives Hall of Fame
award with Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development Associate Program Director Kandi
O’Neil and Wisconsin 4-H Youth Leader Council Vice President Debbie Heth
The University of Wisconsin-Extension 4-H Youth Development Program inducted 100
laureates into the brand-new Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame Saturday, November 15.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony was the last statewide event celebrating 100
years of 4-H in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame was established to recognize 4-H volunteers,
financial supporters, staff and pioneers who made major contributions to 4-H at
the local, state and national levels. The honorees represent 4-H in the broadest
sense, according to Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development State Program Director Dale
Leidheiser.
“We are inducting volunteers, supporters and UW-Extension employees who had an
impact on the lives of children, their community or state through significant
contributions of time, energy, or financial resource to 4-H and its members,”
Leidheiser says.
Wisconsin 4-H is proud to be represented by Gale VandeBerg in the 4-H Hall of
Fame. Gale first experienced Extension as a 4-H member in Clark County. He
studied at UW-Madison, and then taught high school for two years before taking
an assistant county agent position in Outagamie County. This led him to working
with 4-H youth.
Continually learning and teaching was Gale’s life calling. His Master’s degree
from Cornell is in extension education. While working on his Ph.D. at
UW-Madison, he taught in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education.
On completion of his degree, he was appointed associate professor in the
National Agricultural Extension Center for Advanced Study. In 1960 he was
appointed as assistant director of Cooperative Extension. He served on the
committee to plan for the Extension merger in 1965. After the UW System merger
in 1973, he became assistant chancellor and director of Cooperative Extension.
His national contributions were recognized with the Epsilon Sigma Phi Ruby Award
in 1982.
Gale was often the first one in a position as his career was during a years of
growth, prosperity, and innovation.
Since 1914, Wisconsin 4-H has helped youth grow the leadership, critical
thinking and communications skills necessary to be successful in a constantly
changing world. Visit the Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame website to learn more about
the individuals who supported 100 years of growing Wisconsin leaders.
*****************************
Bio: VandeBerg, Gale (1920-2020)
Contact: Stan
----Source: Marshfield News-Herald, Marshfield
(Wood Co) WI, Saturday, July 25, 1992, Page 2 C, Contributed by
the Loyal Public
Library.--Transcribed by
Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.
News-Herald Photo
Surnames:
‘Town of York Native’
Book preserves old lifestyle
By Kelli Karpinski Of the News-Herald
Town of York - A burg between Granton and Loyal on County Trunk K, once called York, was home to a general store, town hall, postal and telephone office, Woodman Hall, York Center Methodist Church and many citizens, including Gale VandeBerg.
Now only the town hall, the church and the cemetery remain. Woodman Hall was turned into a town garage and later burned, while the general store was torn down, and a filling station took its place, which also was demolished.
But, the memories live on in a book VandeBerg has written about the former community and his life beyond Clark County.
"The book is not a biography, basically. I wrote it partly to preserve … a lifestyle that is so very different, a lifestyle we’ll probably never see again." - Gale VandeBerg
The book, "Beyond the Horizon," centers around the beginning of the town of York. VandeBerg, a 1930s graduate of Neillsville High School, said the idea to write a book started when he wanted to preserve history for his grandchildren.
"The book is not a biography, basically," he said. "I wrote it partly to preserve … a lifestyle that is so very different, a lifestyle we’ll probably never see again."
VandeBerg, born in 1920, said his is the last generation that experienced the great changes in society, such as the advent of electricity, movies and factory farms. When he was growing up, horses did the farm work, and cows were milked by hand.
Families today do not sit down together to eat three meals a day as his generation did, and neighbors do not help each other as was once the case. Early communities were settled by relatives, and couples met to marry through school and church, VandeBerg said. The one-room school and churches were the center of social life, he said.
He remembers basket socials in which women and girls would bring (missing words) boys would bid. The bidder and the basket maker would then eat together. He also is reminded of corn husking and threshing when neighbors would come together to harvest grain and the women would prepare a feast.
"It’s that era that’s gone," he said.
Now, even those who live in the country do not know their neighbors, which is much like living in the city, VandeBerg said. It’s the neighborly lifestyle he said he is trying to recall in the book.
The book includes family anecdotes that other authors may not include in their works, VandeBerg said.
"The book is personal," he said, "It’s very personal."
In the part of the book that discusses education, he said he praised the one-room school.
"Everybody learned to read and write," he said.
Another school memory, are the Christmas programs in which children performed. Fathers would build a stage for the event that would be constructed a week in advance for practices, he said.
Toward the end of the book VandeBerg included his professional life experiences. He was an agricultural teacher at Dorchester (line is missing) was 4-H and agriculture agent at Appleton for Outagamie County, before joining the University of Wisconsin staff in Madison in 1954.
In adding excerpts from his professional life, he also talked about family experiences so that the book’s section would not be dull.
In joining a 4-H club in 1929 and the Extension in 1945, VandeBerg said he has seen many changes in the Extension service, especially during and after World War II. During that time, youth programs increased and 4-H got a boost with adult leaders and agents, he said.
Extension also moved into communities, working with small business people, VandeBerg said. It was in the 1950s and 1960s that the service went beyond agriculture, he said.
In the mid-1960s, Extension operations merged, which took more funding than was available. Therefore, there never was complete merging from all university campuses, he said.
The last chapter of the book deals with retirement because VandeBerg said he wants people to know there’s a life beyond being a professional. His advice is to prepare for retirement by being involved during younger years because then retirement, I’ve never been bored, he said.
VandeBerg said he started writing the book in 1983 after retiring he worked on it during the winter. It was finished in 1991.
Information sources were his own memory, which goes back to 19__ and talking with his older brothers.
"I got more information from my mother than any other source," he said. "My mother used to talk to me about the past. Those kind of hung with me.
"My mother left lots of writ (lines are missing here)"
Follow-on Article
An author returns home
Gale VandeBerg, who now lives in Madison, autographs a book he recently finished titled "Beyond the Horizon" during a pie and ice cream social held last weekend at the York Center Methodist Church. The book centers around York, a community where VandeBerg grew up between Granton and Loyal on County Trunk K in Clark County. The only buildings left in York are the town hall and the church, where a cemetery also is located. (News-Herald Photo)
He also got information from his wife’s mother, Elsie Jahr Raine, whose maiden and married names are prominent in the Neillsville area. Mrs. Raine was born and raised in the town of York and lived to be 98.
VandeBerg said he would sit with his mother-in-law to hear her stories, some of which were about the railroad that was built next to her house when she was young. Other stories came from the York Center’s Methodist Church’s centennial book written 20 years ago and the State Historical Society in Madison.
Through the book, VandeBerg said he tried to convey his personal and family values. Those values include developing a plan for life and the future.
People are not bound by their environment, is what VandeBerg’s mother taught him, while his father taught him that nothing comes to a person without working for it.
"Any person who wants to can control his own destiny," he said.
*****************************
Bio: VandeBerg, Gale
L. (Awards - 1980)
Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
Surnames: VandeBerg, Bergland, Diesslin
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 6/05/1980
VandeBerg, Gale L. (Awards - 1980)
Gale L. VandeBerg, state director of Wisconsin Cooperative extension Service and
a Neillsville native, received one of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
highest awards for his efforts to strengthen cooperative research and Extension
programs in the nation’s land-grant universities.
VandeBerg, who also serves as assistant chancellor of UW-Extension, received the
department’s superior service award on May 22 at ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
Secretary of Agriculture Robert Bergland will present the award jointly to
VandeBerg and Howard G. Diesslin, Purdue University.
Nominated for the award by the National association of County Agricultural
Agents, the two men were cited for: “Exceptional leadership resulting in a
revitalization of the agricultural Extension, research and teaching units of the
land-grant universities of America.”
VandeBerg was head of the National Extension Committee on Organization and
Policy in 1978-79, and Diesslin served as chairman of the group’s subcommittee
on legislation and budget. In these roles, they involved key users of
agricultural Extension and research in a critical review of local, state and
national programs. Review recommendations were then presented to Extension
leaders from across the country.
The review eventually led to a series of reports dealing with needed program
changes and importance of federal support for state and local Extension and
research programs. A 60-page report which VandeBerg authored has been
distributed to nearly 8,000 organizations and individuals.
VandeBerg and Diesslin also were instrumental in forming state Extension
advisory groups, which help shape Extension programs and acquaint key
governmental officials with program needs.
The advisory groups have been important in improving congressional understanding
of the land-grant system, and in maintaining federal support for the system,
according to the county agent association.
VandeBerg, 59, a native of Neillsville, has been with Extension in Wisconsin for
35 years. From 1945 to 1954, he served as Outagamie County 4-H and agricultural
agent. He became a state Extension training specialist in 1954 and was named
assistant director of cooperative Extension programs in 1960. He served in that
capacity until the UW-Extension merger in 1965, when he became dean of the
Division of Economic and Environmental Development. He was named to his present
position in 1970.
He was the first person to receive a doctorate degree in Cooperative Extension
Administration from the University of Wisconsin.
VandeBerg has received many previous awards, including the special service award
from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents; and four
distinguished Extension service awards from Wisconsin groups—the Cooperative
Extension Service faculty, the University Extension faculty, the County Agents
Association, and the Community Development Association.
*****************************
Bio: Vandeberg,
Gale (23 April 1942)
Contact: Crystal Wendt
Surnames: Vandeberg
----Sources: The Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) 23 April 1942
Joins Fraternity
Gale Vandeberg, who was a graduate of the Neillsville High School in 1938 and now is a junior in the college of agriculture at the University of Wisconsin, has recently been initiated into the gamma chapter of the Delta Theta Sigma, which is a professional agricultural fraternity. He also was recently elected treasurer of the collegiate chapter of "The Future Farmers of America" for the academic year of 1942-’43.
April 10, Gale was sent as one of four representatives from the University of Wisconsin to the annual convention of the Midwest Federation of Campus Cooperatives, which was held at the University of Minnesota from Friday through Sunday. He also is active in many other extra-curricular activities including freshmen orientations, the "U. of W. 4-H club," the "Blue Shield Club," and has been very active in functions at Wesley Foundation.
Along with these activities, Gale has been carrying a full schedule of classes and at the present time is working at the twenty-five to thirty hours a week.
Gale is a son of Horace Vandeberg, who lives in the Town of York.
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