Peter E. O. Berggren

A Memorial Service for Peter Erik Olov Berggren, 80, of Hawthorn Woods, will be held in Spring 2023.

He was born April 12, 1942, in Västerås, Sweden, and died December 8, 2022, in Barrington, Illinois.

Peter was the beloved husband of Ada May (Nee Fung) Berggren, loving father of Jonathan Erik Peter Berggren, dear son of the late Per Olof Emanuel and Karin (Nee Eriksson) Berggren, and fond brother of Åsa (Bo) Scheutz.

Raised in Västerås, Sweden, Peter attended the oldest educational facility there. Upon completing his formal education and training in filmmaking, he became a prolific director, producer, and set designer for renowned networks such as Swedish Television, European Cultural Channel, and London Weekend TV; major European musical and operatic productions, symphony concerts, and ballets; biographical projects celebrating noteworthy artists; and the televised docudramas Days in Gdansk – A Polish Drama and S.O.S. Harrisburg.

Peter received accolades as an award-winning filmmaker, receiving many prizes for his profound work, including Prix Italia’s Special Prize; Golden Prague’s Crystal Prize and International Press Jury Prize; and Stockholm’s Club 100 Award, Ikaros Award, and Getingen Award.

In the early 1970s, Peter frequently traveled to the United States for various projects. It was on one fateful visit to the San Francisco PBS station in 1972 that Peter met his future bride, Ada. During their first years together, Peter and Ada lived in Stockholm, Sweden and later returned to California to marry on June 20, 1980.

Peter and Ada welcomed their son, Jonathan, into the world on October 6, 1995. The birth of their son was one of their greatest joys. In 1997, the family moved to Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, a quiet town in suburban Chicago.

One of Peter’s more recent films Chick ‘a’ Bone Checkout, documents the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s commissioning of Christian Lindberg to write a concerto for CSO member Charlie Vernon.

As a professor of communications at Chicago’s North Park University, Peter educated students from 2002-2017. Most recently, he visited Stockholm to visit family and friends, solidifying decades of relationships.

Peter was cherished by the many lives he touched across the globe, becoming a beloved father figure, mentor, humanitarian, colleague, and simply a friend willing to help in times of need. He spent his life documenting people and cultures so others may learn and experience the humanity in all of us as one family. He is loved and will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Doctors Without Borders.