Attorney Berens dies at 88

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A New Ulm attorney who practiced law in New Ulm for more than 30 years, including a 24-year stint as Brown County Attorney, died Friday.

Robert "Bob" Berens, 88, had lived in town since the end of World War II. He retired from his practice in the early 1980s around age 70, said Bill O'Connor, a partner in Berens Rodenberg & O'Connor Attorneys.

"He was highly respected and well-liked," O'Connor said. "He was a gentleman from the old school."

Mandy Helget, Brown County auditor-treasurer, said Berens was appointed county attorney in 1951 when George Erickson resigned. Berens then served as county attorney until he resigned on July 1, 1975.

O'Connor said the law firm started in the late 1940s or early 1950s. O'Connor was hired in 1964 by Berens. He credits Berens with giving him an opportunity.

"He didn't really want to retire," O'Connor recalled. "He had a great love of the law. He was regarded as a good business man and a good human being."

After Berens retired, he continued to live in town and was still a presence in the firm.

"He liked to stop in the office once or twice a month for a quick cup of coffee," O'Connor said. "He had a key and was always welcome."

Herb Ranweiler first met Berens in the late 1940s.

"We've been friends for years," Ranweiler said. "He was a great man. He was really good to have around. We just loved him."

Berens was born in Shakopee on Nov. 4, 1912.

He graduated from the University of Minnesota and received his law degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.

After law school, he was a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1941 to 1945, serving in Washington, D.C., Miami and Chicago.

He married his late wife, Lorraine, on May 23, 1942. They were married for 56 years.

The couple moved to New Ulm in 1945.

He was President of the Ninth District Bar Association and President of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association. He was the first lay president of Loretto Hospital in New Ulm, and chairman of the board and director of Citizens State Bank in New Ulm for 28 years.

He was also an officer and director of New Ulm Industries and the New Ulm Industries Foundation.

He chaired the building committee which constructed St. Mary's Catholic Church. Throughout his legal career, he provided legal services to churches and clergy without charge. He did the same for Highland Manor.

Berens died in Minneapolis, of coronary artery disease.

He is survived by three children and six grandchildren.