Bernadette J. Berger

January 7, 1940 ~ January 26, 2015 Bernadette J. Berger of Denver passed away peacefully on the evening of January 26, 2015, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her daughters, Susan(Chris) Tweedy, Sheri McPhail, and Cindy(David) Hayes; 6 grandchildren, Amanda Tweedy, Sean and Spencer McPhail, and Collin, Fletcher and Meghan Hayes; her brother, Michael(Shirley) Dilger; and her nephew, Mike Dilger. Born and raised in Denver, Bernadette graduated from East High School, and soon thereafter enjoyed a brief career as a Stetson hat model. Later, as a stockbroker and divorced mother of three, she met the late William M.B. “Bill” Berger, also of Denver. After dating for almost 20 years, Bernadette and Bill married in 1996. Together, Bill and Bernadette became one of Denver’s most famous pair of art collectors, amassing a collection of British art spanning 600-years, as well as Asian, American, Italian and French works. It began almost by accident, starting as a way for Bernadette to keep her newly-retired husband occupied.  Over the next three years, they acquired nearly 400 works of art.  In 1998, their collection went on display at the Denver Art Museum as 600 Years of British Art, and received notoriety locally, nationally and internationally. Though Bill died unexpectedly in 1999, the collection lives on today through the Berger Collection Educational Trust. Fifty works in the collection recently commenced a travelling exhibition, Treasures of British Art 1400-2000: The Berger Collection.  The exhibition began at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, is presently at the Dixon Gallery Gardens Art Museum in Tennessee, and will eventually be displayed at the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University in Utah, and then back to the Denver Art Museum. In addition to collecting, Bernadette expressed her passion for art through service on boards and committees for numerous organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Huntington Library, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Save Venice, and Yale University Art Gallery.  Her passion and strength was further shown following a battle with a rare illness that left her disabled, as she continued to serve in various philanthropic endeavors and opened her home to numerous art scholars, local teachers, and students of art.  In 2009, she received the ArtStar award from Art Reach Denver, in recognition of her many years of service in the arts. Though passionate about art, Bernadette’s proudest achievement in life was being a mother, sister, grandmother and wife.  In addition, as a Colorado native, she enjoyed the outdoors, partaking in skiing, fishing, horseback riding and tennis. Though she loved Colorado, she also loved to travel, and visited 5 continents, 20 countries, and 40 states during her years. Though she is gone, her love, strength, spirit, and philanthropy, will live on through her family, her many friends around the world, and the legacy of her art accomplishments. In lieu of flowers, Bernadette’s family suggests that memorial contributions may be made in her honor towww.artreachdenver.org. Service Thursday, February 5, 2015,  10:30 AM memorial mass will be held at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church 2250 South Harrison Street Denver, Colorado 80210. There will be a Celebration of her life  to follow at the Denver Art Museum between 1:00PM and 2:30PM.