James Berven, of Montevideo, died on Thursday June 24, 2010 at the Chippewa County - Montevideo Hospital at the age of 81. Funeral services will be conducted on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Montevideo with Rev. Tim Ehling officiating. Interment will be in the Watson Lutheran Church Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday afternoon and evening with the family present from 5 - 7 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home in Montevideo. James Ellsworth Berven was born on June 4, 1929 in West Bank Township of Swift County, MN to Oscar and Alice (Larson) Berven. He attended rural schools in District 19 north of Watson. He served in the U S Army during the Korean Conflict. On August 19, 1951, he was united in marriage to Shirley Opien at Watson Lutheran Church. He farmed in rural Milan for many years before working for the MN DOT in 1969 and moving to Granite Falls. Shirley died shortly after they moved to Montevideo in 1983 after 32 years of marriage. On July 21, 1984, he was united in marriage to Beverly Manthei at Trinity Lutheran Church in Montevideo, and they were blessed with 25 years of marriage, during which time they enjoyed traveling and wintering in Arizona. Jim was a historian, enjoying all sorts of history, especially about family and was a walking history book. A normal drive around Montevideo would result in a history lesson on the way it used to be. He especially loved old cars. His greatest passion was restoring old cars with his son, Bob. They started this hobby in 1965 and still continued to enjoy it. He was especially interested in Ford Model T and Model A's. Jim enjoyed visiting with all his family and telling them stories. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He is survived by a son, Bob (and Diane ) Berven of Milan, MN; children: Joel (and Deborah) Manthei of Monticello, MN, Jayne (and Mike) Krivinchuk of Superior WI and Jeffrey (and Sherry) Manthei of Montevideo, MN; ten grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren; a brother David (and Diane) Berven of Milan, MN and a sister Beatrice (and Dennis) Olson of Montevideo, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Shirley in 1983; and second wife, Beverly in 2009.