Barry Bertram
| George Barry Bertram, Sr. (Commonwealth's attorney and Southern Baptist layman in Campbellsville, Kentucky) | |||
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| Born | August 29, 1935 Campbellsville, Kentucky | ||
| Died | January 2, 2025 (aged 89) Campbellsville, Kentucky Resting place: | ||
| Political Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse | Martha Pickett Bertram (married 1954-2022, her death) Children: | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist | ||
George Barry Bertram, Sr., known as Barry Bertram (August 29, 1935 – January 2, 2025), was an attorney and elected commonwealth's prosecutor for the 11th Judicial District in his native Campbellsville, Kentucky. He was also active in civic affairs and various Christian institutions.
Biography
Bertram was one of three children of Judge George O. Bertram (1911-1997) and the former Golda Risen (1911-2002). His grandfather, Oscar B. Bertram (1875-1944), was also a judge.[1] His brother, Phil Allan Bertram (1941-2025), was a Campbellsville attorney with the firm Bertram and Cox.[2]His nephew, Allan Ray Bertram, son of Phil Allan Bertram, is also a judge in Campbellsville.[3]
Bertram graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. For nineteen years, he was a trustee of Campbellsville University and a board member for thirty-four years of the Community Trust Bank. Formerly, the music director at Bible Baptist Tabernacle in Campbellsville, he later joined the Campbellsville Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist institution, formerly pastored by J. Chester Badgett and James Edward Jones. For nearly six decades, Bertram he was affiliated with the Gideons International, the Bible distribution organization. For three years, he was the state Gideons president, and he attended fifty Gideons international conventions and frequently spoke in area churches about the importance of the organization.[4]
Al Hardy, the former pastor of Good Hope Baptist Church in Campbellsville and a Campbellsville University administrator, said that his friend Bertram had a quick wit. “It was really quite remarkable how quick a comeback he could come up with seeing how he kind of stumbled around while telling a story.” Current Campbellsville president Dr. Joseph Hopkins, said that he found Bertram "to be an excellent servant leader, both for us and the community ... He was a combination of uncommon intellect and kindness. I leaned on him as a source of wisdom.”[4]
Bertram was an active sportsman, a jogger, a tennis player, and a golfer. He was highly competitive and cultivated much respect on the Miller Park tennis courts in Campbellsville.[4]
In 1954, he wed the former Martha Pickett, who died in 2022. Bertram was survived by four children, John David Bertram and wife, Leah, of Campbellsville; George Barry “Chip” Bertram and wife, Carolyn, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee; Teri Anne Bertram Campbell and husband, Dale, of Nashville, Tennessee; and Margaret Kathryn “Kathy” McCabe and husband, Scott, of Old Hickory, Tennessee, and six grandchildren.[4]
Bertram died on the second day of 2025 and is interred with his family members at Brookside Cemetery in Campbellsville.[4] After his passing, he was honored through a resolution of the Kentucky State Senate.
References
- ↑ Judge George O. Bertram (1911-1997) - Find a Grave Memorial, accessed February 20, 2025.
- ↑ Phil Allan Bertram. findlaw.com. Retrieved on February 20, 2025.
- ↑ Phil Allan Bertram obituary. pmg-ky2.com (December 1, 2025). Retrieved on December 4, 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Barry Bertram, 89, Campbellsville, KY, accessed February 20, 2025.
