John Steven Berglund was born June 6, 1954, in Boone, Iowa. He was the youngest of five
children to Berkley and Guadalupe Berglund. His Mexican mama and Swedish father settled in
the small town of Stratford, Iowa. He was doted on as the baby of the family and called “Johnny”
by his older siblings.
Life took a major turn at age sixteen when he was in a serious car accident. Cruising down a
gravel road with two classmates, John lost control of the car, and the teens were ejected from
the convertible. This was a wake-up call for John and led him to cry out to the Lord for help. As
time went on, that initial call for help led to salvation in Jesus Christ during a spiritual revival in
Stratford. From that point on, John never looked back and was an ambassador for Christ
wherever he went.
He graduated from Stratford High School in 1972 and hit the road to attend Moody Bible
Institute in Chicago for a year then Faith Baptist Bible College for a semester. To pay for school,
his gift in talking led to many different jobs in sales: door-to-door books and Bible sales, selling
furniture, cars, insurance, etc.
On August 16, 1974, John married DeLayne Kopp who was also saved during the Stratford
years of revival. John and DeLayne’s years together were full of a wide variety of ministry
opportunities, sharing the good news of Jesus, and raising their three daughters: Alana, Miriam,
and Annalisa. Their family relocated to the Des Moines area in 1990 for John to take a pastoral
position at Cornerstone Community Church. Teaching Bible class at Des Moines Christian,
Bible studies, summer Bible camp ministry, doing funerals and weddings, and ongoing Israel
tours also kept John very busy.
Great sorrow and brokenness came through the season of divorce, but God was not finished
working in the life of John or his family. Work shifted to Wellspring Book and Bible, traveling for
Christian publishing companies, and then in 2008, an open door for employment at Valley
Church through John’s dear friend, Pastor Quintin.
John also met Deborah Siedel during this time, and they were married on March 8, 2008, in San
Diego, California. Their time together was spent serving at Valley Church in all kinds of
ministries such as divorce care, outreach opportunities, senior care, mission trips, and making
several trips to Israel. When retirement came in 2020, they were led to Brownsville, Texas. John
was asked by a resident in their park to be the preacher for their retirement community and filled
in at other local churches in the area when needed. John and Deborah loved traveling together,
walking the beach, having morning coffee, and laughing. During their 18 years together, their
adventures and hilarious debacles were endless.
John left this earth on January 21, 2026, after a whirlwind battle of cancer. He was welcomed
into glory by his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is deeply missed by Deborah, Alana and
Michael, Mimi and Brett, Annalisa, Mitch, Mandy, and the grandchildren who loved him and
called him their beloved Papa John. The Celebration of Life will be held at Valley Church in
West Des Moines, Iowa on February 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM with a luncheon will follow.
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