Dennis 'Denny' Berglund, 83

May 21, 1937 —

July 31, 2020

 

Greenwood Village, CO - Dennis “Denny” Carl Berglund, age 83, of Greenwood Village, Colo. lost his fight with cancer on Friday, July 31, 2020 at Porter Hospice-Centennial.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2020 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., with Pastor Gary Sandberg officiating. Because of COVID restrictions, funeral services will be limited to immediate family, but a live webcast (Bethanylive.org) of the service will be available for viewing. The service will be archived so if people are unable to view the service as it takes place, they can do so any time afterward. A private military burial at Fort Logan National Cemetery will follow the service.

Dennis Carl Berglund, “Denny” to many, was born in Hartington, Neb. on May 21, 1937 to Axel Bernhardt and Villena Ann (Wormke) Berglund. The ninth of 11 children, he and his five older brothers were known for their athletic abilities at Hartington High School. 

Enlisting in the Army in 1955 after high school, Dennis was stationed in Gelnhausen, Germany and served in the Third Armored Division, 65th Field Artillery, during the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. 

On Feb. 3, 1962, Dennis gave his family a reason to gather for a reunion when he married Shirley Jane Hudson of Cresco, Iowa at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Washburn, Iowa, where his brother and family were members. The couple had two sons, Bret Lee Berglund and Brad Alan Berglund.

The couple’s first home was in Iowa Falls, Iowa, where Dennis was employed by Iowa Finance. His corporate career and his family’s adventurous journey were about to begin when Iowa Finance became part of Avco Financial Services. Corporate transfers, promotions and job opportunities in six different companies (Iowa Finance, Avco Financial Services, Bay View Federal Saving and Loan Association, Imperial Thrift and Loan Association, Century Acceptance Corporation and Mountain Parks Financial Services) took the family to seven states (Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, California, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Colorado), 16 cities and 19 different homes. Every city was unique, and Dennis personally helped the family assimilate and explore the new communities.

A PRNewswire Newsfax best describes Dennis’ career journey:

DENVER, Colo., Feb. 23, 1996: “Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dennis M. Mathesen today announced the formation of Mountain Parks Financial Services, Inc. . . . and the hiring of Dennis C. Berglund to head up the business. With more than 30 years of consumer finance experience, Berglund joined Mountain Park’s Financial Services as president to drive the establishment and growth of the business. Most recently, he was with Century Acceptance Corporation (Kansas City, Mo.) where he served as president and CEO since 1993. Prior to that position, he served as Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Vice President of Imperial Thrift and Loan Association (Burbank, Calif.).”

Known for his smile and optimism, Dennis was successful in business and gave back to his community. Optimist International suited Dennis, and in Huntington, Ind., he received great acclaim when his wife organized and directed the Miss Huntington pageant. 

Always a member of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), Dennis served on the association’s Board of Directors when he was president and CEO of Century Acceptance Corporation in Kansas City, Mo.

As an athlete, Dennis loved and excelled in sports throughouthis  life. Joining adult teams for basketball, softball, golf, bowling and tennis was not unusual for him. He was on three first-place bowling teams before he stopped bowling for health reasons. Dancing was special to the couple, and his family excelled at waterskiing, often owning a boat. In addition, he attended all of his two sons’ and his two grandsons’ athletic games and meets from their youth teams (often coaching) throughout their high school and college years. By far, his greatest competition was playing cards with his five older brothers.

Surviving Dennis are his wife of 58 years, Shirley Berglund of Greenwood Village; sons, Bret (Pam) Berglund of Las Vegas, Nev. and Brad Berglund of Colorado; two grandsons, Brock Berglund and Brant Berglund, both of San Francisco, Calif.; siblings, Roland “Rollie” Berglund of Kearney, Neb., Douglas (Pat Dunning) Berglund of Raleigh, N.C. and Lee Berglund of Mt. Shasta, Calif; sisters-in-law, Patricia Berglund of Arvada, Colo. and Janet Berglund of Orlando, Fla.; and brother-in-law, Kenneth Lapp of Byron, Ill. Also surviving are relatives in Sweden, nieces and nephews who were very special to him and his cousin, Mildred Swanson of New Richmond, Wis. 

Preceding him in death were his parents; his father- and mother-in-law, Horace Leeman and Mary Jane Hudson; three brothers, Donald Berglund, Kenneth (Ruth) Berglund and Bill Dale Berglund; four sisters, Ellen (Raymond) Kleinschmit, LaVern (Harvey) Lentz, Delores (Paul) Gordish and Lois (Kenneth) Lap; and sister-in-law, Leah Berglund.