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MY FRIEND CHARLIE
Bercaw's love of nature enriched Omaha's parks When officials considered expanding the University of Nebraska at Omaha into Elmwood Park at various times, Bercaw advocated preserving the park. After Bercaw's death last month, a memorial service was held in a fitting green setting: the Buffett Forest Learning Center at Fontenelle Nature Association in Bellevue. He died at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on Jan. 15 from complications related to surgery in October. He was 64. "He absolutely loved the park," said son Christopher Bercaw of Minneapolis. "He was a lifelong learner and loved to teach and loved to explore." The senior Bercaw earned bachelor's and master's degrees at UNO. As a young man, he worked as a writer and an editor for the Sun Newspapers, the Council Bluffs Nonpareil and the Douglas County Gazette. Bercaw was executive director of the Nebraska Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the 1980s and in recent years he provided public relations services for Max I. Walker Cleaners. He also played guitar with the Old Time Wood and String Company, a small group that performed at Vala's Pumpkin Patch on fall weekends in the 1990s. Bercaw's other survivors include wife Debra, son Andrew of Denver and three grandchildren. |
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