JOSEPH BERTAIN

A wonderful mentor and a great friend. His generosity and wisdom is sorely missed.

Joe & Lisa:

Moira & I just received word of Joe's death and were deeply saddened for your loss but are comforted in the belief that this principled man who served as such a wonderful role model for so many will be joining his beloved Bernadine in Heaven for all eternity.
Rest in Peace, My Dear Friend.

Joe Russoniello

Mr. Bertain was very kind to me while I attended SMC with his son Joe. He was very supportive of my decision to enter the legal profession. I value the imput he had when I was making my career choice. I have the upmost respect for him and his family.

Uncle Joe was a wonderful man, whom is very much loved by everyone who meets him. He has touched all of our lives. Now Uncle Joe you have made the final journey to heaven. We will always Love and miss you, until we all are reunited at heavens gate. Rest in Peace,Uncle Joe.

Our family spent a week with the Bertain's many summers at their Metropolitan Hotel/Home. After dinner our fathers would argue politics, then the 15 cousins, led by Joe, would start singing. I particularly remember Joe leading everyone in Alouette translating the French by pointing to the correct bone. He seemed to really enjoy life and being around people, frequently with stories to tell.

Uncle Joe was wonderful with children. I remember as a kid he and Bernadine visitng us in San Leandro one sunday afternoon, my GrandparentsLouis & Polly Bertain were in town. I was in the kitchen, and he walked in, sat down with me, and he complimented me on my basketball skills he had witnessed weeks before in San Francisco. I was probably 9 or 10 yrs old. Then he placed his hand firmly on my shoulder, and said "you, John, are a Bertain, and I'd like to take a minute to tell you what...

I have fond memories of vacations in Rio Dell with the Cantys and Bertains making a minimum of 19 at the dinner table.
I fondly remember Joe and his brother Dick leading us in song, such as "There's a shanty in the town..." My sister, Patricia Canty Zavadil just wrote to me from Denver saying, "I too have such good memories of Joe as a leader and as one who savored life, enjoyed talking . . . and singing. I wish I could attend the funeral. Patricia"
Barbara Canty Wheeler, Sacramento...

I am honored to call him Uncle Joe, and flooded with wonderful memories of him:

His ability to arrange phone calls from Santa Claus every Christmas for all his nieces and nephews (he knew some powerful people); attending the Notre Dame-USC game every other year in Los Angeles and getting us tickets to the Sunday Breakfast to meet the Notre Dame team; large family gatherings at our Grandparents' home in Humboldt County, with Uncle Joe always giving the perfect toast before the meal....

Joe was a great man and a great GAEL. He was a dear friend to the Miller Family. May he rest in the peace.