Memorial services for Bernard V. Sondergard of Watertown, Minn., formerly of Albert Lea and New Germany, were held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 30, at the Sten Funeral Home, Delano.

Bernie passed away Saturday, July 27, 2002, at the Waconia Medical Center.

Bernie was the son of Nels and Alma (Fiene) Sondergard and grew up in the Hartland-Freeborn areas. He graduated from Freeborn High School in 1939.

He and his brother Luverne enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and were sent to Camp Pendleton, Calif., for active duty on Jan. 13, 1942. He was a sergeant in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945, serving on the various islands in the South Pacific.

On his return from military service Bernie worked for a short time at Gordon Electric in Albert Lea., and a firm in Iowa. He moved to New Germany where he owned and operated Frontier Electric Co.

Bernie was a charter member of the Carver County Mounted Posse, the Tri-County Riders of Watertown, served as head of the Carver County 4-H horse program, and was on the Carver County Fair Board.

He was an active member of the Western Saddle Club Association as a judge and past president. He placed third in the American Quarter Horse Reining Competition at the Quarter Horse Congress in 1983, and was a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Bernie is survived by five sons: Michael and wife Susan of New Germany, Jerry and wife Peggy of Princeton, Jack and wife Lisa of Wausau, Wis., Scott and wife Deb of Farmington, and Steve and wife of Connecticut; 13 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two sisters: Marilyn Phillips and her husband Fred of New Richland, and Wilma Zoller of Albert Lea.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Luverne; and a niece, Kathy (Zoller) Reynolds.