Barbara A. Bertram

Barbara Anne Bertram, a devoted school teacher for over 30 years, passed peacefully from this life on July 8, 2022 at Casa San Miguel, her home for the past nearly two years.  Alert and conversant right up to her final days, Barbara was proud to state that she was 97 and a half years old!

Barbara traveled extensively throughout Europe and loved to reminisce about her love of art which she enjoyed and collected throughout her travels.  The joy of this past year was highlighted by her trip to the Santa Barbara Art Museum to take in the wonders of the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit.  As a lover of art and supporter of the local Art Museum, Barbara was thrilled to have had that opportunity and recently commented – “my paintings (originals) seem so drab compared to the work of Van Gogh!”

Barbara loved art and reading.  She read book after book in her retirement years and donated many books to the Santa Barbara Public Library.  For many years, she enjoyed being in a book club where she shared insights and stories with other book club members.

Born in Glendale, California, Barbara was the second of three children of Edward and Eva Haller Bertram.  Her siblings, Wallace and her younger sister Sally, preceded her in death many years earlier.

A graduate of UCLA, Barbara’s life was centered on teaching, which was conducted entirely in the San Francisco Elementary School system.  Barbara so often fondly spoke about her dear and long-time San Francisco friend, Julia O’Meara, a few years her senior (age 99), whom she still communicated with until very recently.

Barbara leaves behind Joyce Bertram, wife of her brother Wallace and their three daughters –  Lisa Severy, Sally Yoshida and Susan Bertram – and  her maternal cousin, Robert Haller and great nieces and nephews of whom she was very proud.

Many thanks are extended to a wide variety of caregivers who assisted Barbara in her later years.  Special mention goes out to Katerina and Anton, Administrators of Casa San Miguel and the two weekday regular caregivers, Lana and Nora who became very special to Barbara during these past two years.

Family and friends acknowledge that Barbara lived a full and meaningful life, right up to her final days. A private memorial will be held in August in Santa Barbara.

Arrangements entrusted to McDermott-Crockett Mortuary