Rosalyn Bertamus

Rosalyn Marie (Eischens) Bertamus passed peacefully from this world on November 2, with family by her side and in the loving care of the staff at The Jack Byrne Center at DHMC.
Rosy was born on June 13, 1938 in Clarkfield, MN to Ferdinand Eischens and Margaret (Pierce) Eischens. She grew up on a farm in St. Leo, MN, where she happily worked and learned beside her mother, shared buttered popcorn with her sisters one minute and chased them with snakes the next, listened to the Boston Red Sox on the radio with her brother, and adventurously attempted to sail a slough in a peach crate. She attended St. Leo Catholic School and later Canby High School, where she graduated with academic honors and as homecoming queen in 1956. She married Clayton Bertamus on June 18, 1957. She was a woman of faith and a member of the Roman Catholic Church her entire life.
While Rosy was a respected career woman who worked in the legal and medical fields for over 55 years, her greatest joy and fulfillment came from time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, to whom she passed on her love of nature and reading, her boundless curiosity, her sense of gratitude, and her belief in making the world a better place. She was the "go-to" grandma for school art and science projects, and to this day we still find pressed flowers in old phone books, ready for the next art project. Rosy also immensely enjoyed the company of her extended family. The Pierce family reunions held on the Bertamus farm in Canby, MN are the stuff of legend, as are the annual family canning and freezing weekends to put up bushel after bushel of cucumbers, beans, corn, peaches, and tomatoes.
Wherever Rosy went, people instantly felt her warm and generous spirit. In her many moves, from St. Leo to Canby to St. Cloud to Farmington to Vermont, she was quick to make friends and become a beloved part of the community. Whether she organized holiday bazaars to support the local hospital, hosted bridal and baby showers and birthday parties for relatives and friends, or simply put the coffee on early in the morning, Rosy would find what needed to be done and she did it. She was creative, funny, energetic, and generous with her time and love. Athletic in a time before women in sports was the norm, she settled for cheering on her favorite teams, especially the ones on which her children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews played.
Rosy thrived outside in nature and fresh air and was drawn to birds, butterflies, flowers, and all things green and growing. Over the past 10 years she visited numerous national parks out west, with her favorite being the Grand Canyon. In 2019, Rosy moved to Vermont to live with her daughter Laurie and Laurie's husband, Rowe. There she further developed her keen interest in bird watching and tree, fern, and flower identification while also maintaining her lifelong commitment to community and community events by volunteering for summer festival and turkey supper tasks. No one can peel a potato like Rosy, a result of nearly 80 years of cooking and baking with love and purpose. No one will forget her BBQ ribs, marshmallow brownies, creamy cucumbers, or potato salad. In her later years, she continued to help with the family tradition of canning and freezing corn and peaches every fall.
Rosy was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Clayton Bertamus; her mother and father; and her brothers, Ferdinand Eischens, Jr., and Roger Eischens. She is survived by her children: Michael Bertamus and his wife Marcie; Susan McNeal and her husband, Mark; Laurie Williams and her husband Rowe. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Kelsey Bertamus Ruth and her husband Andrew and their children Arthur and Madeleine; Trent Bertamus and his wife Tasha and their son Grayson, with one on the way. She also enjoyed the bonus of wonderful step-grandchildren, Sam Williams and Matthew Williams, and Matthew's wife Nina and their son Silas. She is also survived by her two dear sisters, Evelyn Johnson and Karen Polfliet, as well as many adored nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A service will be held on Saturday, December 7 at 11:00 am at the West Newbury Congregational Church in West Newbury, Vermont. A service will also be held in Rosy's home state of Minnesota in the Summer 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Horse Meadow Senior Center (Craft Room, 91 Horse Meadow Road, North Haverhill NH 03785), where for the past couple of years Rosy has enjoyed rediscovering her artistic and musical talents and visiting with new friends. A special thanks to Christine Johnson, Theresa Lavoie, and Debbie Jenkins of Caring Hands Home Health Care for making that happen.