Delta Gamma sister remembered for legacy on the slopes

Jayne “Jane” Livingston Bergman: Loyalty

“Loyalty to her friends,” a trait of a special Delta Gamma that is missed by an entire community of 1,000+ people. This is the description given of the late Jayne Livingston Bergman, Tau-Iowa, of Keystone, Colorado by her friend of 20 years, Joyce Hanna Clary, Alpha Nu-USC. From the time the two met and discovered they were both DGs, the friendship and support of each other endured.

As a collegian Jane was a leader in the chapter and the student body at University of Iowa, but it was her willing support of an endeavor that she and her husband, Bill, agreed to with another couple on New Year’s Eve 1968 when she exemplified what it meant to “Do Good” in a big way. Jane and Bill agreed to help build a new ski resort in Summit County with noted skier Max Dercum and his wife Edna. Max, who created his first ski area at Arapahoe Basin in 1946, would take care of the snow operations and ski school, while the Bergmans would handle the business side, finding investors and building first the ski facility, then the entire Keystone resort community. 

Originally hailing from Iowa, the couple who met at a college pub when Bill offered to teach her how to play pinball, quickly sprang into action and started contacting friends in Cedar Falls, where they lived. 

He is credited with transforming the ski industry into a corporate enterprise by getting Ralston-Purina to invest in Keystone. And right by his side was Jane teasing him and urging him on. Her son, Bill Jr., calls his mother the resort’s first marketing director.

In 2013 the Bergman’s’ co-authored a book, By Chance: The Founding of Keystone Resort. In it Jane is quoted, “When I wake up every morning and interact with the people who are here, it’s very grounding, and it centers me into staying in touch with the parts of life that are most important.” Very good advice no matter where you live. She was passionate about the community she helped create and enjoyed talking and greeting visitors to the resort or creating camaraderie with other Keystone residents.

Jane Bergman, a strong leader, an athlete, a compassionate DG, loyal to her family and husband, loyal to her friends, loyal to her Keystone community, passed away as she was being carried by a Flight for Life helicopter over “her mountain” as a blue moon rose in the sky above her on September 27. We are proud of the example Jane has been for women of all ages - for her life of giving and her membership in Delta Gamma Fraternity for 91 years. 

Written by Marilyn Haas, Alpha Rho-Ohio Wesleyan, Fraternity Archivist