North Bend resident to become centenarian

Published 2:22 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

There’s a theory that clean living pays off, and Bergit Sandberg can prove it. The North Bend

resident is a role model for good health, strong faith and

kindness to all. And not only that — she turns 100 on Jan. 13.

A native of Nore, Norway, Sandberg has lived in the

same house in North Bend since 1954.

Her daughters, Linda Phillips and Norma Dehline,

described their mother as having extremely good health for her age.

She’s never had any diseases, never been on medication and has

eaten a strict vegetarian diet for at least 60 years.

“She’d cook Daddy his meal, then she’d cook her own

separate one,” Dehline said.

Besides her physical health, the daughters credit

Sandberg’s faith in God, her hard work and her naturally sweet disposition

for extending her life.

“She’s just as sweet as ever. She always looks for the good

in people and never complains,” said Phillips, who lives with

Sandberg. “She’s just been thankful for whatever she has and has never

expected a lot.”

“She’s just a happy lady,” added Dehline, who lives

next door with her husband, Roger. “She never says a negative

thing, and her smile is just there always, regardless of bad news,

good news, whatever.”

When asked what the centenarian’s advice was for

living a long, meaningful life, Sandberg replied, “Trust in

the Lord, be faithful to the Lord, keep the Commandments.”

As a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church,

Sandberg lives according to the Bible’s principles and encourages others

to find their faith.

The lively woman with silky white hair is the fourth oldest

of 10 siblings — three brothers and six sisters. She was born into

a farming family, and her father also made shoes. Only she and

her younger brother, Torstein Liseth, in his 90s, are still alive.

And longevity runs in her family. Several of Sandberg’s

relatives reached their 90s and beyond, including her mother,

who saw the age of 98, and her aunt, who lived to 107.

Sandberg, whose maiden name was Liseth, came to

the United States with her cousin when she was 22 to, as she put

it, learn English. The rest of the family stayed in Norway.

Along the way, she lived in New York and on farms in

North Dakota and Oregon before meeting Oregon-native

Lawrence Sandberg at a logging camp near St. Helens, Ore.

After moving to the Valley so Lawrence could work

at Weyerhaeuser, the Sandbergs started their own clan, with

two daughters, grandchildren Pam Hudson and Doug Phillips,

five great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Lawrence Sandberg died in 1972.

For 10 years, Sandberg worked as a housekeeper at

the North Bend Nursing Home, now called Mount Si

Transitional Health Center. She retired in 1972.

Gardening and sewing were always passions for Sandberg,

her daughters said.

“[Sewing] just came natural to her. She’s quite a seamstress

and sewed things for her little sisters in Norway when she was just

11- or 12- years-old,” Dehline said.

“She’s always cared about the way she looked — her hair

always had to be in place,” Phillips added.

Nowadays, Sandberg still enjoys reading, visiting with

family and friends and sewing. In fact, she recently hemmed many of

her own garments.

Although the hearty Norwegian woman has seen many

great changes in the world, Sandberg said the most interesting was

to be able to fly to her homeland for a visit, rather than travel by ship.