William Andrace Bertelson Obituary
William Andrace Bertelson "Bill" passed away peacefully at his home on July 31, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in San Francisco, California on August 15, 1947 to parents Andrace "Andy" Clarence Bertelson and Oma Jean Dolan Bertelson. Bill grew up in Sacramento where he attended elementary through high school, excelled in sports and academics and even coached youth swimming. From childhood on, he spent his most memorable moments in the Sierra Nevada mountains with his father, running a pack station in Little Antelope Valley, cultivating a passion for horses, hunting and fishing. That is where he became a cowboy.
He went to college at So. Utah University where he was a football and baseball star and where his short yet illustrious, rodeo career began. While at So. Utah his father passed away and Bill transferred to Sacramento State University, then onto The University of Nevada where he boxed. In 1969, he joined the US Army; in 1971, he graduated from the University of Nevada. With his uncanny ability to connect with people he went to work for Merrill Lynch as a stock broker in Las Vegas. The years in Vegas helped build his reputation as someone who could always get things done; honesty, integrity and hard work were how he conducted his life.
Vegas was the beginning of the Oatmeal Travel Club, of which he was a founding member, about which no further information is available….
Five years in Vegas was more than enough for a lifetime and a half of friendships, shenanigans, and stories, some appropriate and some not, and so Bill headed to Reno to be closer to family. It was there that he truly hit the jackpot and met Margo Trachok. He had a lot of help from his favorite cousin, Linda Clift, and his future mother in law, Fran Trachok, and six months later on June 3, 1978, at Our Lady of the Snows Church, Bill and Margo were married.
Bill had a 45 year career as a real estate broker and in 1984, started his own firm, US West Investments, where he would make and meet lifelong colleagues, clients and friends. He was a member of the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors for over 45 years.
A true philanthropist, Bill was always personally involved in his community and the number of organizations he dedicated his time and heart to are too great to list in their entirety. From helping start the Suicide Hotline while at UNR to his last years of Reno Rodeo Foundation, he not only helped with the organization, development and creative direction, he was boots on the ground. He spent six years on Reno Planning Commission and served as chair. He spent decades as part of the Reno Rodeo Association and Foundation. He served first as Reno Rodeo Foundation President in 2010 and 2011 and as Reno Rodeo Association President in 2014. He was particularly proud of the work the Foundation did when serving rural Northern Nevada's youth. Bill was a longtime member of Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church and served more than a few terms on the OLS School Board while his children attended school. He coached both his boys' baseball teams at Reno National Little League for all their years and spent one year helping his grandson, despite it being a Dodgers team.
Yet the one constant in his life was family and it was the most important to him. Bill went from from an only child to the patriarch of a large, loving family. He loved hunting with his sons and later his grandchildren, and collected a number of comrades on his many adventures. He was well known for his athletic prowess chasing the elusive chukar up and down the mountainside or going after big game from Nevada to Africa and even Turkey. All involving his children. He was a great man and a gentleman and he taught his children and many more, that with great talent, comes great responsibility. Bill was a true cowboy and passed on his love and passion for all things western to his wife and four children, instilling in them all a great appreciation for nature, the beauty of Nevada, and the respect for the land.
Together with Margo, they were the biggest cheerleaders for all their kids' sports and activities in the early years extending to the recitals, races and careers of their adulthood. Always the pair with the cases of sport drinks for the team and friends, hosting dinners, and making sure friends felt like family whether it was Thanksgiving, Sunday Family Dinner or a Tuesday night. The door was always open. And then came grandchildren. As far as Bill was concerned, grandchildren were a gift from God Himself. Nothing gave him more joy than a school pick up, a dance recital, pushing them on their swing, or a little morning snuggle and a (unsanctioned by mom) donut run.
Bill is survived by his wife of 44 years, Margo Trachok Bertelson, his children Jaimie (Chris) Dianda, Kelly (Jonathan) Banks, Andy (Mandy) Bertelson and Kyle (fiancée Ashley) Bertelson and his beloved grandchildren Gianna, Kendall, Reece & Ryder Dianda, Jake and Kinsley Bertelson and Arlo Banks. Also his sister & brother-in-law and dear friends, Cathy Trachok and Russ Barnes, niece Sierra (Chris) Stephens, and nephews Zephyr (Ellie) Barnes and Rio Barnes and his great-nephew, Rhett Barnes and many more cousins.
He was predeceased by his parents, Andy and Jean Bertelson and his parents-in-law whom he deeply loved, Dick and Fran Trachok.
A funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church on August 9, 2022, at 11am. In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests donations be made to Step 2 or the Carmelites of Reno.
