Kurt Michael Bertram

KURT MICHAEL BERTRAM

HORNELL-Kurt Michael Bertram, beloved son of Terry and Janet Bertram and brother to Mark, went home to the Lord on Sunday (Aug. 29, 2010). Born on Nov. 5, 1980 in North Hornell, Kurt fought a long and courageous battle with mental illness.
Kurt was a 1999 honor graduate of Hornell High School, a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Northeastern University in 2004 where he was the recipient of the William Jefferson Alcott, Jr. award from Northeastern recognizing him as the senior who demonstrated exceptional achievement in cooperative education and accomplished goals beyond the requirements of the University curriculum. Kurt and his family were very proud of his published work relating to eye retinal detachment in 2007. While at Northeastern he was an AmeriCorps volunteer. From 2004 to 2006 Kurt worked as a research assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston on Macular Degeneration.
In 2010 he earned his Master’s degree in Toxicology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he was pursuing his Doctorate in Toxicology.
Kurt loved to travel and visited China in 2008 and recently returned from Korea where he visited a colleague and friend, William.
In addition to his parents, Janet and Terry and his brother, Mark, his sister-in-law, Tracy; nephews, Jack, Alex and Luke, Kurt is survived by his Uncle Mike and Aunt Carol Rogers; cousins, Michelle, Melissa, Megan, Michael and Maureen “Mo”; his Uncle Jerry and Aunt Bev Bertram; cousins, Cathy, Christopher and their families.
He was predeceased by his grandparents, Ann and Carl Jones, Charles and Dena Bertram and his dog, Lauren.
Calling hours are from 5-8 p.m. Thursday at the Bishop & Johnson Funeral Home, Inc., 285 Main St., Hornell. Friends are invited to meet his family at the United Presbyterian Church, 150 Main St., Hornell where a funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, with the Rev. David Kilgore officiating. Private interment will be at Rural Cemetery, Hornell.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing may contribute in his memory to the Genesee Area Campus Ministries, University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel, where Kurt attended worship, 320 Wilson Blvd., Rochester, NY 14627 or to the Hornell YMCA Building Fund, 12 Center St., Hornell, NY 14843 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.