(Fremont County, WY) – Over the 2026 Labor Day weekend, the family of Fremont County Assessor Tara Berg announced that she had passed away following a sudden battle with a rare cancer, leaving behind a legacy of commitment to her family, friends, co-workers, and her role working for the County.
“I’m here writing the hardest post I’ve ever had to write but want to let you all know that my beautiful mama, Tara Berg, went home to be with God this afternoon after a short but extremely courageous battle with a rare cancer, surrounded by family and friends,” Tara’s daughter Brooke shared on social media Saturday. “I don’t know how anything will ever, ever be the same. Not Walmart trips, not Ichiban or Perrett’s dates, or road trips. There aren’t words to quantify how enormous this loss is. To know my mama was to love her.”
Berg’s passing creates two separate vacancies: one for her current term as Assessor, and another on the November ballot for the term beginning next year, for which she was running uncontested.
County Clerk Julie Freese shared details on what that process looks like with County 10, and also weighed in on the loss, stating that Tara “was a true public ‘servant’ to the Fremont County people.”
“She sat in front of her office and met with everyone who questioned their (property) values or asked for assistance with anything. She showed up, she knew her Assessor’s duties so well,” Freese stated. “I welcomed the idea of her and I doing some public venues to talk about property taxes and how they and elections went together. We both had a sense of educating our public on important county things that affect our constituents’ lives. I will miss her smile and friendship and her stopping in every day just to say, ‘Just checking in to see how you’re doing?’ She truly cared about her constituents, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t argue with you, but I know most left her office feeling they had been heard and that their concerns mattered.”
“They say you can’t replace a person like Tara, and while things will go on, I can assure you, the shoes to fill are large and hopefully are full of the same compassion for the job,” Freese lamented.
Heading into the 2026 General Election, Berg was running uncontested for the County Assessor role; she received 7,811 votes in the August Primary.
Freese shared with County 10 that in the event a partisan nominee from the Primary passes away before the General Election, the Republican Party central committee would need to determine who should succeed them on the General Election ballot as the Republican nominee moving forward.
“I have to have a name who qualifies (qualifications include: being eligible to vote in Wyoming elections, must own property in the County, must be a resident of the County for the entirety of the term, must be certified by the Wyoming Dept. of Revenue, among others) no later than Friday, September 11, 2026 at 9 AM,” Freese explained. “This selection, should they be the successful candidate in the General Election, would serve the entire 4-year term.”
Freese also explained what the process looks like for selecting the individual who will serve the remainder of Berg’s current term, which runs through December and officially ends on January 3, 2027.
“The commissioners have decided on a special meeting tomorrow at 9:30 AM (September 9) solely for providing the vacancy of office process to send to the Fremont County Republican Party on the process of filling the Assessor’s current term,” Freese shared. “The Republican Central Committee will have 15 days from the notice of the vacancy to convene the county central committee to select three qualified names to be sent to the County Commissioners for them to interview and select one to appoint and fill the remaining term ending January 3, 2027.”
The Commissioners will then have a regular meeting September 29, which is when it is expected that the three people selected by the party will be interviewed. Afterward, one will be selected to fill the current term for County Assessor.
Tomorrow’s special Commission meeting is open to the public, and can also be viewed on the Commission YouTube channel.
The memorial service for Berg will take place Saturday, September 19, at 3 PM in the Lander Valley High School field house.
“Immediately following will be a dinner celebration of her beautiful life at the Inn at Lander in the Gannett Room,” Brooke also shared on her Facebook page. “We ask that you please wear your favorite fancy outfits, and your absolute best turquoise in honor of my mama, who had the best jewels!” Brooke added that a formal obituary is forthcoming.