ohn Scott Bergeson was born on December 18, 1940 in Iowa City, Iowa. to Andrew and Rose Bergeson. He was the third of four children born to Andrew and Rose Bergeson and their only son. The family moved from Iowa to Portland in 1945 and opened a restaurant in the Hollywood District – The Hollywood Shake Shop.

John grew up in Alameda and attended Rose City Park Grade School. He was a member of the Boys Scouts of America and was interested in hunting and fishing. John graduated from Grant High School in 1958 and went on to attend Lewis & Clark College for a year before transferring to the University of Oregon where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1962.

John met his wife, Geneva Mae Wilke, in 1966 and they were married in 1967. The couple had three sons – Eric, Kyle and Garth.

John went to work for the Seattle-Spokane Railroad (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) in 1965 where he worked for 32 years before retiring in 1997.

John had a love of history, politics and collector cars. He was an avid soccer fan, discovering the game when his sons started playing in their youth. John loved collecting firearms, rare coins and he was a voracious reader.

John was very proud of his Norwegian heritage and had strong opinions on a multitude of topics. You could count on John to write at least two letters to the editor of the Oregonian every year.

John loved spending time at Manzanita Beach having built a home there in 1979. He would spend many weekends and summers there with his wife and sons while searching for buried treasure on Neakhanie Mountain.

John loved singing in the choir at church and was very involved in the community at Central Lutheran Church during the years that the family lived in the Alameda area.

His father, Andrew John Bergeson, and his mother, Rose Caroline Bergeson, preceded John in death. John is survived by his wife; Geneva Wilke Bergeson, his sons; Eric (Lisa)Bergeson, Kyle Bergeson and Garth (Jennifer)Bergeson, his grandchildren; Hannah Bergeson, Olivia Bergeson, Andrew Bergeson, Sophia Bergeson and Ava Bergeson, and his sisters; Mary Lou Bergeson Pfaltzgraff, Marian Bergeson McKelvy, and Roseann Bergeson Libonati.

A celebration of life will be held at Central Lutheran Church in Portland on Friday, November 13, 2015 at 1:00. A reception will follow immediately after the service in the parish center. Any donations in John’s memory can be made to the National Rifle Association.