Thomas “Tom” James Bertera of El Sobrante, CA, loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed away from MDS Leukemia on February 6, 2024. He was born on November 22, 1950, the son of Joseph (Joe) and Joy Bertera. Tom was a retired school police officer who believed in the best of everyone. He enjoyed spending time in Truckee, and indulged in fishing, bowling, bicycling, weightlifting, long car rides, and spaghetti with chicken dinners. Tom loved to watch tennis and golf and tried his best to play like a pro. Most of all, he treasured spending time with his family. Tom was preceded in death by his parents Joe and Joy (2017) whom he loved dearly. He will be missed tremendously by his devoted wife of 50 years, Carmen, daughter, Carmelita, son-in-law, Mark and grandsons Patrick (13) and John-Thomas (9), along with siblings, friends and extended family. Tom believed friendship and kindness were ways of life and touched many with his outgoing personality and affectionate nature. Friends and family are invited to attend his viewing vigil Tuesday, February 27 from 5-7pm. Funeral services will be Wednesday, February 28 at 11:15am. All are encouraged to share their personal stories at the viewing and post funeral reception. Both vigil and funeral will be held at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1965 Reliez Valley Road, Lafayette, CA. For those able to attend lunch after funeral services kindly, RSVP through this Evite http://evite.me/MKtGutbsSn . We are grateful to the young man who donated his bone marrow and gave us extra time with Tom. We encourage everyone to learn about becoming part of the Be The Match bone marrow registry. For those interested in supporting the program in his memory https://give.nmdp.org/site/Donation2?17497.donation=form1&df_id=17497&mfc_pref=T . Flowers are being coordinated by Pleasant Hill Florist.
