Bernice Marie (Kaiser) Burg, age 83, passed away peacefully on December 27, 2025, after a four-year battle with dementia. She was lovingly cared for and deeply cherished.
Born on March 3, 1942, Bernice was raised in Yankton, South Dakota, where she later met and married Jim Burg on July 22, 1967. The couple moved to the Burg family farm near Wessington Springs, where they raised their five children. Bernice worked at First National Bank until they later purchased and operated the local Ben Franklin Store.
Jim, Bernice, and their daughter Lisa later moved to Pierre while Jim served as Public Utilities Commissioner. During that time, Bernice worked as a teacher’s aide, a bank clerk, and in the office at Morris, Inc., before pursuing her dream of becoming a drapery seamstress. She worked for Ethan Allen and various designers in Sioux Falls before moving her business, Fabric Creations, back to Main Street and later to her home in Wessington Springs. Jim and Bernice were also part of a community group that invested in the local bowling alley to help keep it open.
Bernice found joy in both creativity and connection. She loved tending to her garden, bowling, golfing, drinking warm Coke and expressing her creativity through crafts and sewing. Whether working with her hands or spending time with family, she approached everything she did with care and patience. Rooted in devotion to her family, quiet strength, and kindness toward others, Bernice was a loving mother, grandmother, and friend, known for her generosity and the many talents she freely shared In her later years, dementia gradually changed many things, but it never diminished Bernice’s grace, dignity, or the love she inspired. Her family is deeply grateful for the caregivers and medical professionals who treated her with compassion throughout her illness.
Bernice was preceded in death by her spouse of 60 years, Jim Burg; her parents, Herb and Ann (Goeden) Kaiser; her in-laws, Albert and Pearl (Linafelter) Burg; her brothers-in-law, Richard Deines and Jack McNeil; and her sister-in-law, Diane Burg. She is survived by her children: Jeff (Kim) Burg; Cory Burg; Julie (Doug) Bruckner; Casey (Beena) Burg; and Lisa (Andreas) Heiss; nine grandchildren: Shawn Goepfert; Sierra and Cheyenne Burg; Hailey and Will Bruckner; Kedrin, Aiden, and Siri Burg; and Karl Heiss; her sister, Margie Deines; and her brothers- and sisters-in-law: Don and Lois Houwman, Andy Burg, Betty McNeil, Tom and Ginger Koehn, Quinten and Linda Burg, and Dennis and Sylvia Ray, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who will forever cherish her memory and the legacy of love she leaves behind.
Visitation will be held Friday, January 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Wessington Springs, with a prayer service beginning at 6 p.m. A Catholic funeral service will be held Saturday, January 3, at 10 a.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, due to the fire at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Prospect Hill Cemetery. A light lunch will be served during fellowship in the church hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church P.O. Box 266 Woonsocket, SD 57386 or Wessington Springs Area Community Foundation (Jim and Bernice Burg Endowment Fund) P.O. Box 157 Wessington Springs, SD 57382 www.sdcommunityfoundation. org/local-impact/ community-foundations/ wessington-springs