Albert Edwin Betteridge Jr.

On Monday, December first, Bert Betteridge ate a hearty breakfast, walked away from the table and died in mid stride. He never could sit still.
Bert taught by doing, usually doing things for people who couldn't do so well for themselves, or simply doing something for friends: it made sense to him.
Common sense, it was abundantly clear to him, was too rare in the world.
For all his 88 years he forged ahead - through the Great Depression, the Army Air Corps in World War II, and building a jewelry business in Greenwich.
All the while he left monuments to his efforts that were the gifts he made by hand: the beloved clocks, music boxes and antiques he restored; the old cars he tinkered back into action; and the bits of friends' and neighbors' houses he repaired just for the love of doing it. Bert felt his children's and friends' joys and sorrows more keenly than they did, and was ever ready to celebrate, cushion a fall, provide a rescue, or share a story.
He was always there, fixing and giving, and is missed tremendously.
Bert made his entrance into this world on July 31, 1920, in Montclair, N.J., and later lived in Greenwich, Conn., Weekapaug, and, most recently, Canaan, Conn.
Those missing him after his untimely - it could never be timely - exit include his dear wife, Betty; his sisters, Marjorie Heidt and Jean Marquardt; his children, Anne, Terry, Jim, and Pete Betteridge and their families; his grandchildren, Win, Brooke, Jane, Ban, and William Betteridge; Kayvan, Liz, and Katayoun Sadeghi; Veronica, Amanda, and Coco Siebert; and many, many relatives and friends.