REV. JAMES BERTELLI

1928 - 2022

BORN

1928

DIED

2022

FUNERAL HOME

Douglass Funeral Home - Lexington

51 Worthen Road

Lexington, Massachusetts

JAMES BERTELLI Obituary

Name: Wake for REV. JAMES BERTELLI
Start: 2022-01-10T21:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-01-11T01:00:00.000Z
Location: St. Brigid Church

BERTELLI, Rev. James Of Lexington, died on January 5, 2022. Born in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1928, son of Amelio and Stella (Guazzaloca) Bertelli. He is survived by his sister, Mary Ann McKenna and her husband, Walter, of Lexington. Uncle of Stephen McKenna of Lexington, James McKenna of Brewster, John McKenna of Harvard and Kathleen McKenna of Reading. Grand-uncle to Ashley Khattach, Amanda, Stephen and Thomas McKenna, Brian and Kevin Medlin and Daniel Richards. Ordained at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston on February 2, 1959. Served at St. Colman, Brockton, St. Timothy, Norwood, Sacred Heart, Watertown, St. Anselm, Sudbury, and St. Eulalia, Winchester. Army combat veteran in the Korean War.

Wake at St. Brigid Church, Lexington on January 10, 2022, 4:00 - 8:00 pm. Concelebrated Mass on January 11, 2022 at 10:00am. Burial at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.

Memorial donations may be made to Rural Water Ventures, Inc., c/o Joseph Ramrath, 6 Tamarack Lane, Needham, MA 02492. Lexington

www.douglassfh.com

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Published by Boston Globe from Jan. 5 to Jan. 6, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for JAMES BERTELLI

6 Entries

Alison and Jeff Otto

January 13, 2022

Fr Jim was everything a priest should be: humble, kind, caring and supportive. He was there for most of our family milestones: baptisms, confirmations, RCIA, and renewal of marriage vows. He inspired our oldest son to become a priest and was there at St. Anselm´s for his first Mass. His magician performances at parish shows inspired our younger son to pursue magic as a hobby. He was a wonderful man and priest who was loved by everyone. He will truly be missed by all, but will continue on as God´s loving servant. May he rest in peace in God´s loving arms.

Gail and Joe Trainor

January 8, 2022

Memories of Fr. Jim Bertelli

When I think of Fr. Jim Bertelli, what comes to mind immediately is his deep-rooted faith. He had an ability to share that faith through his homilies and interactions with people.

We were blessed to have him as Pastor of St. Anselm for 17 years. His laughter was contagious. Fr. Bertelli was a priest who showed his caring by reaching out to everyone.
He was open, honest and direct. Fr. Bertelli personally encouraged and invited us to participate at church, not to sit on the sidelines.

From the beginning, he wanted to get to know people, and soon we had name tags on tables in church for all of us to wear during Mass. He went out of his way to welcome and introduce folks to one another. That first welcome is always remembered.

For years, our Cursillo group met monthly in the rectory basement for faith sharing. He celebrated Mass and joined in one of the small groups following Mass.

Fr. Bertelli was a happy participant in parish shows - enchanting everyone with his magic tricks, which he also performed for our young faith formation classes. The delight on the faces of the children and their parents was heartwarming.

He was a mentor to men as they began the discernment process of priesthood, especially Fr. Rich Erikson and Fr. Brent Otto, as well as two parishioners who were ordained Deacons - Guy Spiri and Joe Ramrath.

Most heartwarming was to be in Fr. Bertelli´s presence as he comforted the sick and dying. Many of us have memories of that caring that we will treasure forever.

When all is said and done, Fr. Bertelli was a good and faithful servant, who loved God and His people. May he Rest In Peace in the arms of his heavenly Savior.

Gail Trainor
Co-Chair St. Anselm Pastoral Council

Betty Foley

January 7, 2022

Father, you were a great spiritual influence in my life. Thank YOU!!

Kevin Driscoll

January 6, 2022

Father Bertelli was amazing.

Tom Pochapsky at St. Eulalia

January 6, 2022

Fr. Bertelli's sermons were always a breath of fresh air. We have one of his landscape paintings (forsythia!) on our wall. Our loss is heaven's gain!

Jerry & Carolyn Watson-Peters

January 6, 2022

We offer our condolences to Fr. Bertelli's family, as well as our fondest memories of Fr. Jim as our Pastor at St. Anselm's Parish in Sudbury. Fr. Jim presided and witnessed our wedding in 1997, and we will always remember his warm support of us as we united as one in marriage. He is in God's embrace, and we wish you well as you grieve the loss of your brother, Uncle, and Grand-Uncle.
Jerry & Carolyn

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