Willidean I. Crisp

Willidean (Bergdall) Forks-Crisp, age 91, passed away Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Born February 20, 1935 in a home built by her grandfather on Houk Road in Madison Township, she was the daughter of William and Charlotte (Brouwer) Bergdall, making her the 5th generation on the farm settled by her maternal great-great-grandfather. She was baptized in the Lutheran faith, confirmed in 1947, and joined the Marquardt Lutheran Church where she was organist for church and Sunday school.

She graduated from Hoagland High School in 1953 and from Ivy Tech in 1984 from the nursing program, retiring in 1996 from the Lutheran Home. She was a Navy Reserve Veteran and played piano and for church services at the Reserve Center in Forest Park, Illinois. She was a published author, played piano and dulcimer with the Black Swamp Group in Woodburn attending many jams there. Willidean loved crocheting and making hot pads.

She was a member of Emanuel Lutheran Church in New Haven, Indiana.

There is a destiny that makes us brothers. None goes his way alone. All that we put into the lives of others comes back into our own.

She is survived by two sons, Gail Forks and Albert (Sue) Forks, both of Fort Wayne, Indiana; two grandsons, Rob (Jessica) Forks of Monroeville, Indiana and Matthew Elzey-Forks of Fort Wayne, Indiana; one niece, Shelley Bergdall-Rothgeb of Phoenix, Arizona; and several cousins.

She was preceded in death by her second husband, C.W. “Bud” Crisp, and a grandson, David Elzey-Forks.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, August 23, 2026, at the Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Jacobs Chapel in Monroeville, Indiana, with Pastor Dave Taylor officiating. Private family burial will be at Monroeville Memorial Cemetery at a later date.

The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Sunday, August 23, 2026, at the Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Jacobs Chapel in Monroeville, Indiana.

In lieu of floral arrangements and gifts, preferred memorials can be given to Stillwater Hospice or Riley Hospital for Children.

Arrangements by Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Jacobs Chapel of Monroeville, Indiana.