Richard E. "Bertel" Bertelmann

1931 - 2023

With his family by his side, Richard E. Bertelmann, who was professionally known as Dick Bertel throughout most of his extensive media career, passed away peacefully in a Maryland hospital on the morning of September 11, 2023. He was 92.

Dick was born in the Bronx, New York on January 6, 1931, and spent his childhood in its Wakefield neighborhood before his family relocated to Darien, Connecticut in 1944. Before he had even graduated from high school there, he had landed an announcing position at a nearby radio station. By the time he graduated from New York University in 1952 with a degree in broadcasting, earned while commuting to Manhattan on the New Haven Railroad, he had already garnered four years of experience at WNLK Norwalk, WGCH (FM) Greenwich, and WNAB Bridgeport.

He met his beloved wife Jean, then a nurse at Stamford Hospital, while working at that city's local radio station, WSTC. A year later they were married in Rowayton in 1955 before relocating to Hartford where Dick had accepted a position at WGTH (WPOP today). In 1956, he joined the announcing staff of the legendary 50,000-watt radio station WTIC, then owned by the Travelers Insurance Companies.

In 1957, WTIC put its long-awaited television station, Channel 3 (WFSB today), on the air. Dick's warm and authoritative voice was the first one heard on the station, repeatedly announcing its legal identification over a test pattern. Television was still in its formative years, allowing him to experiment with new concepts and approaches.

During the years when Channel 3 was operated alongside WTIC (AM) and WTIC-FM, Dick was seen and heard constantly on all three stations, making the Wethersfield resident one of Connecticut's best known and most versatile media personalities. On radio he read newscasts and hosted entertainment programs. On TV he presented telecasts of the Hartford Symphony, produced his public affairs program Perception, and anchored the major newscasts including the Six O'clock Report. For the combined operations he interviewed many great political and cultural icons and led breaking news coverage of major events including the 1961 Hartford Hospital fire, the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965, the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and the ice storm of 1973. Starting in 1971, he was also the first moderator of the long-running Channel 3 political program Face the State.

In 1978, he was recruited to direct Hartford's WKSS Radio, then an easy listening station, ultimately becoming its vice president and general manager. He also hosted its morning show, Good Morning, New England.

In 1984, he accepted a position at the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. From the nation's capital, Dick also anchored newscasts for the NBC and Mutual radio networks. He retired from VOA in 2006.

WTNH anchor Dennis House reflected, "I'll always remember Dick Bertel's kindness and advice he gave me over the years. His contributions to Connecticut television and radio were numerous and I am grateful to him for inspiring me."

Richard Edwin Bertelmann was predeceased by his father Henry Bertelmann, his mother Martha (née Delventhal) Latz, his stepfather James Latz, and his brother Harry Bertelmann. In addition to many close friends, he is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jean Bertelmann of Gaithersburg, Md.; their daughter Darcy Bertelmann of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; their son Jim Bertelmann of Fairfax, Virginia; their daughter Susan and son-in-law Michael Rau of Leesburg, Va.; their son Doug and daughter-in-law Lynette Bertelmann of Fort Mill, South Carolina; four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and numerous adored nephews and nieces including his brother Harry's daughter, Nancy Sheets of Reno, Nevada.

At 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 2023, a memorial service will be held in Germantown, Md. at the United Church of Christ of Seneca Valley. It will be livestreamed. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donating to the church at uccsenecavalley.org or to Smile Train, a charity that provides corrective surgery for children born with cleft lips and palates, at donate.smiletrain.org. The family guestbook can be signed at www.DeVolFuneralHome.com