Jolene M. Bergman's Obituary
Jolene Margaret (Rutten) Bergman entered into eternal life on February 2, 2020 at home in Fort Myers, Florida. Jolene was born in Alexandria, MN to Bernard and Margaret (Merten) Rutten on February 24, 1958.
Jolene grew up on the family farm in Belle River, MN. Her first job was picking strawberries and driving a tractor on the farm with her father. Her sixteenth birthday marked her first day at work as a nursing assistant. She continued her work through high school and two years at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN. Her joy of caring for others continued throughout her life.
In 1978 Jolene joined the U.S. Army and her first duty station was Fort Campbell, KY where she was a Personal Actions Specialist with the 101st Airborne. She was promoted to Lieutenant and ended her tour of duty at Fort Benning, GA. Jolene loved serving her country but chose not to make it a career. She left the military and moved to Naples, FL, earning her Registered Nurse degree at Edison Community College. She worked at Naples Community Hospital from 1982 thru 1987 as an RN. In 1988 she began working for the U.S. Postal Service and retired in 2018 with 30+ years of service.
Jolene received all Sacraments of her faith at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Belle River, MN. She chose her devotion to Our Guardian Angel early in life. She was received as a Lay Carmelite in 2002 in a first Sat Mass at St. Williams and professed in 2008 at St. Peter the Apostle (both in Naples, FL) on February 11, 2008 (Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day). Jolene made her final profession with the Saint Williams Lay Carmelite in November 2018 and was a beloved and valued member. Jolene loved roses and this carries on perfectly with the Carmelite tradition. Her great devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and to the Divine Mercy Chaplet were paramount to Jolene.
While Jolene’s many interests included swimming, biking and windsurfing, reading was her favorite past time. She loved to learn and always had 2 or more books with her when not working. She volunteered at The Thomas Edison Estates in Fort Myers, FL and at ECHO, a global organization that exists to reduce hunger and improve the lives of small-scale farmers worldwide, located in North Fort Myers, FL.
Jolene is survived by three older brothers Ronald Rutten (Carol) of Alexandria, MN, Jerry Rutten (Sheila) of Sauk Centre, MN and Roger Rutten (Gary Gibson), of Alexandria, MN.
Jolene will forever be remembered as a loving, kind and compassionate woman with an infectious smile and a heart of gold. She was known as “Joyful Jolene” and always signed her correspondence and emails with this signature.
All memorials for Jolene may be sent to: Saint Williams Lay Carmelite, % Dorothy C. Kahaly at 87 3rd St., Bonita Springs, FL 34134.
Cards and condolences may be sent to her brother Roger and best friend Harold:
Roger Rutten Harold Petersen
912 Hawthorne St. #206 2301 4th St. N. #9
Alexandria, MN 56308 St. Petersburg, FL 33704
A Mass of Christian Burial is planned for 1:00 PM on Friday, February 21, 2020 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 2057 Cleveland Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33901.
Interment at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota, FL 34241 is scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
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