Betty Jean Berg, 90, died on Nov. 24, at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
She was born on March 19, 1918, in Abingdon, Ill., to Edna M. Taylor and Delbert A. Clore.
As an infant, Berg moved to Vale, where her family farmed and raised turkeys through the Depression, and beyond. She pulled her weight on the farm and realized what became her life-long love of horses. She became an accomplished horsewomen, having learned first to ride her beloved, if sometimes ornery, pony.![]()
Berg graduated from Vale High School in 1936, the salutatorian of her class. After one year of business college in Boise, Idaho, she moved back to Vale and worked at Malheur Bank for five years.
Berg then moved to Portland to work for Eastman-Kodak. Listening to her father’s advice, she returned to Eastern Oregon and began work in Burns in 1942 for Taylor Grazing (the Bureau of Land Management). She met Carl Berg at a dance, and the couple eloped to Seattle, Wash., on April 14, 1943. They were married for 55 years when her husband died in 1996.
Berg and her husband owned and operated Egan’s Tavern in Hines for more than 40 years. She also continued to operate the Clore wheat farm in Athena with her brother, Wendell. Berg was a mom, den mother, Sunday School teacher, room mother, horseback riding companion and cook for her three children. She lived in her home in Hines for more than 60 years, and loved her yard, flowers and growing tomato crops for her salads. She enjoyed the deer, quail and birds visiting her yard.
She and her husband enjoyed traveling with her brother and their cousins. They explored the United States, as well as France, England and the Virgin Islands.
Berg served on the boards of the Harney County Senior Center and the Harney County Historical Society for many years. She was an active member of the congregation of the Peace Lutheran Church. She led water exercises and enjoyed taking walks.
Berg is survived by her brother, Wendell; children Del and wife, Sue, Doug and Linda; grandchildren, Hilary, Stacy and Misty; great-grandchildren, Kodee and Trevyn; niece, Julie Clore; and nephew, Lance Clore.
A memorial service will be held for Berg at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. Contributions in her memory may be made to Peace Lutheran Church, Harney County Historical Society or Harney County Senior Center, in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488, Burns, OR 97720.








