Fred W. Berger Jr., 95, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2023 at River Bend Assisted Living in Great Bend, Kansas.
He was born January 12, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Fred W. Berger Sr. and Fern (Walsh) Berger. His mother passed away when he was 13 months old, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Bessie P. Walsh in Tescott, Kansas, who passed away when he as 17. He married Barbara Windscheffel, to which they were blessed with three children, Brent, Brad, and Babette. They later divorced. On March 17, 1976, he married Wilma Jean Korbe and she preceded him in death on October 31, 2022.
Fred graduated from Tescott High School and after graduating, he joined the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C., serving from 1946 – 1948. After his discharge from the Navy, he attended Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska where he received a degree in Business Administration in 1953. He later was selected as an All-Conference Guard by the Lincoln Star Journal in Lincoln, Nebraska. He then attended the Hartford Accident and Indemnity School in Hartford, Connecticut where he received his degree in Insurance in 1956. In 1957, he completed the Dale Carnegie Course, and in 1958, attended the American Property and Casualty School. In 1963, he received his Life Underwriting Training Council (LUTC) designation.
Fred was a field representative for the Hartford Insurance Company following college. Fred worked in several insurance agencies until in 1968, when he and silent partner Leo Dreiling formed Insurance Planning, Inc. (IPI). Fred was very committed to his profession and under his direction IPI grew from two employees in 1968 to one of the largest agencies in Kansas. During Fred’s career he earned the following designations: Certified Insurance Councilor (CIC), Certified Long Term Care Counselor (CLTC), Advisor in Insurance (AAI), and Long-Term Care Professional (LTCP). Fred served as the President of the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Kansas. In 1978, the PIA named Fred the Professional Agent of the Year for the State. Due to Fred’s innovative marketing ideas, in 1989, Insurance Planning was nominated as the Marketeer of the Year out of 4000 Independent Agents in the United States and Canada. Fred is co-author of “The Oilfield Manual”. In 1992, he sold their controlling interest in Insurance Planning, Inc. to the other seven Junior Partners. He remained working for a time as a Long-Term Care Salesman.
Fred was a former member of the Presidents Club at Fort Hays State University, Smoky Hill Country Club, Charter Member of the Ambassador Club, past Member of the Baseball Association, and Co-Chairman of the Financial Division of the United Way of Ellis County, and Board Member of the Heartland Community Foundation all in Hays, as well as Charter Member of the Ambassador Clubs of Great Bend and Hays, Great Bend Kiwanis Club and Board Member, past O&E Chairman of Boy Scouts of America and United Fund Board all of Great Bend. He was a beloved child of Christ and a former member of Celebration Community Church in Hays before moving to Great Bend in 2014. He is currently a member of the First Christian Church of Great Bend.
Survivors include his son, Brad A. Berger of Aptos, CA, stepdaughter, Debra J. (Clayton) Noffsinger of Great Bend, half-brother, Charles (Sally) Berger of Soddy, TN, brother-in-law, Francis McIntosh of Smith Center, sister-in-law, Darlene
Hammerschmidt of Hutchinson, daughter-in-law, Mary LaFlamme of Hays, grandchildren, Lana McClanahan, John Kinderknecht, Candi Pfannenstiel, Jeffrey Noffsinger, Jennifer (Nathan) Sullivan, Cory (Sheena) Noffsinger, Jacki Klug, and 18 great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife Jean, his parents, son, Brent Berger, daughter, Babette Kinderknecht, stepsons, William Allen Korbe and Walter Joseph Korbe, brother-in-law, Charles Oscar McIntosh, sisters-in-law, Leona McIntosh and Dorothy Fross, and a step granddaughter, Emily Faye Noffsinger.
A Celebration of Fred’s Life will be at 10:00 am on Saturday, September 16, 2023 at Celebration Community Church in Hays, with Pastor Josh Leu officiating. Burial with military honors by the Hays VFW Post #9076 Honor Guard will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 7:00 on Friday at Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home and from 9:00 am until service time on Saturday at the church. Memorials are suggested and payable to Heartland Community Foundation for the Fred and Jean Berger Insurance Planning, Inc. Charitable Fund or Gentiva Hospice. Condolences and memories of Fred may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com.