IVAN ‘CHICK’ BERGSTEIN Aug. 14, 1924 – Feb. 11, 2020
Ivan “Chick” Bergstein died Tuesday, February 11, 2020, of natural causes.
He was born August 14, 1924, the eighth of nine children to his mother Teresa Bergstein and thirteenth of fourteen to his father Sigmond Bergstein.
He was predeceased in death by his wife Charlotte, brothers-in-law Ted and Herman, and twelve of his brothers and sisters. He is survived by his sons Steve (Karen) and Ken (Dolores), brother Joe (Frances), grandchildren Kelly (David), Knute and five great-grandchildren.
Chick dropped out of high school in 1942 to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and then the Army. He was assigned to the Tank Corps and trained as a gunner in a light tank and took part in maneuvers in Louisiana and California before being shipped to England in 1943.
Chick and his crew supplemented their meager rations with beets dug out of farm fields at night. He acquired a dislike for beets that lasted his entire life.
He landed in Normandy on D Day + 26 with Patton’s third army. He was gunner to the commanding officer (CO) of D Company, 68th Tank Battalion, 6th Armed Division. Recoil of the 37-mm main gun from his first shot in combat broke his CO’s arm and he became commander of the tank until the captain’s return from the hospital. The Division’s first assignment was to take the port city of Brest. The objective was so strong they had to give it up and join Patton’s thrust through France. During the Battle of the Bulge, he took part in the advance to liberate Bastogne. Chick was subsequently wounded in the arm by 40-mm shell fragments. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star(V) for Valor in combat.
He was discharged from the Army in October 1945 and attended school in Lynchburg, VA and then at Washington and Lee University where he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He came to Los Alamos in 1953, employed by LANL’s accounting department, where he met and married Charlotte in 1958. He was appointed group leader of the Payroll group, a job he held until he retirement in 1987.
He loved his family above all else, and he also loved New Mexico and Los Alamos; for the people, the mountains, the climate, golf, duplicate bridge, and fishing in the Rio Grande.
A private ceremony for Chick will be held at a later date.
“Serving families for over 50 years” Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, NM 87505, (505) 984-8600. Please sign our guestbook for the family at: www.berardinellifuneralhome.com
