Gary Bertram

Gary Bertram died May 23. He was 61.

Bertram was born in Oakland on April 20, 1957 to parents Marilyn and Lee Bertram. He was raised in Hayward and later moved to Tracy, Manteca and Ripon, where he lived for 20 years.

He was married to his wife Sharon for 40 years. Over the years they enjoyed boating, music and traveling to warm places like Hawaii. Their children are Jason and Amanda.

Jason and wife Jennifer have one daughter, Ava, who was his heart and always made him smile. He had the joy of meeting Amanda’s daughter Jovi, as she was just a few months old.

He had many jobs over his life starting with delivering newspapers for the SF Chronicle, then on to Forman Industries, PG&E, City of Tracy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he worked for 17 years. He was proud to work there and made many friends.

Bertram loved music, playing his drums with the boys, or as most of know them as Common Ground. He loved old classic cars and was especially proud of his 1941 Chevy coupe. He was a faithful New England Patriots fan. As he got older, he truly loved the simple things in life and that was just sitting in the sun having a cold one with friends and family. His sense of humor and witty personality was truly one of a kind. He will be greatly missed.

Family members include grandparents Walter and Galdys Bertram and Dorris and Lawrence Failing; two sisters, Susan Lee and Kathi Bertram; nephews David Solberg (Junemarie), Richard Solberg and Travis Bertram; and his aunt Barbara Schmuck.