James L. Bertram

     James L. Bertram, age 94, passed away December 15, 2022, in Bennington, NE. 

     Jim was born January 13, 1928 in Armour, South Dakota, to the late Louis E. and Helen Ann (nee) Kiunke Bertram. He was baptized February 24, 1928 and confirmed October 26, 1941 in the American Lutheran Church. 

     The Bertram family moved from South Dakota to Damon, TX when Jim was three years old. At age eleven, he grew vegetables, which he sold from his bicycle rack after school. Following high school graduation at age sixteen, Jim worked as a roughneck in the oil field, until enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1945. 

     Jim and Eula Dell Fogle married in 1947. In their early years, Jim started his own tv sales and repair shop, and a dry-cleaning business. He later worked as an auto salesman, eventually owning a GM franchise and became a real estate broker around the Edna, TX area. 

     Jim served on several church and civic committees in Jackson County, TX. 

     He is preceded in death by wife, Eula Dell; daughter, Pamela Lopez; and sister, Juanita Van Cleve. 

     He is survived by his wife, Norma Jean, of Bennington, NE; grandchildren: Misty Reyes, Billy Howell, Kristin Lopez, and Pamela Lopez; 13 great grandchildren, and five great, great grandchildren, all living in Texas. 

     Memorial Service will be held at 11 am on Monday, December 26, 2022 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 322 N. Molley St., Bennington, NE. 

     Inurnment of ashes will be in Edna, TX. Online condolences can be made at LincolnAlternativeFuneral.com.