Obituary

We Celebrate “Berthaday”

It all began on December 1, 1923, in Anaconda, Montana. Bertha is the third of six children born to Arthur and Agnes Schreiber, who eventually would settle in Seattle, Washington. More specifically, she grew up on Queen Anne Hill, which is near the Space Needle and the Three TV towers, next to what used to be Queen Anne High School on the hilltop. She and all her siblings graduated from QAHS along with her three children, Barbara, Tom and Suzanne.

Bertha is the very last of her siblings Helen, Louise, Artie, Aggie and Freddy. Her daughter, Barbara, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer just three years ago. What a grand reunion they all must be experiencing at this moment in time as we know it… in a place where time is no more.

Bertha was a waitress for most of her adult life and raised her three children as a single parent. She was full of energy, working all day, home to prepare dinner, very active in her church, and the only mother who came out to play with the neighborhood kids – baseball, kick the can, hide and go seek, swimming at Green Lake, ice skating and roller skating – she just kept going and going like the “energizer bunny.”

She was a positive influence and must have impacted thousands of individuals over the course of her life. Surely every one of those who have gone on before would have been there to greet her as she stepped into God’s Kingdom and presence.

Bertha loved to sing and to worship Christ the Lord and she seemed to never tire or be deterred from that which was most important to her – serving God and serving others. She definitely was one of a kind in so many ways.

Bertha was active up into her late 80’s… walking, standing on her hands, swimming and diving, jumping on her little exercise trampoline and generally being on the go. She never stopped being a child at heart and never lost her sweet sense of humor.

Her very last words were a quote from Scripture: “All things work together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His purpose.” She couldn’t get it all out but Suzanne was there to help her finish the verse at that precious moment along with Keren and Elle, two of her granddaughters.

She was very involved in many different outreaches over the span of her 95 years. Teen Challenge, the African Children’s Choir, along with Mission, Rest Home and Jail ministries. She had a heart to serve as no other – it was so much a part of her nature.

Bertha’s parting is such a sweet, sweet sorrow – our loss is heaven’s gain. She will be genuinely missed by her two children, 12 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren as well as many family friends she has known and loved. Her extended family is far reaching and God only knows how many lives have been touched and encouraged in some great or small way over the course of her pilgrimage here on earth.

Her enthusiasm for life and her genuineness were obvious to all who crossed her path. “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your God.”

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., April 7, at Shoreline Community Church (125 NE 185th Street, Shoreline, WA 98155).

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to: www.africanchildrenschoir.com. Please make checks out to:

“Music for Life” and mark “Bertha Nelson Memorial Fund” (PO Box 29690, Bellingham, WA 98228).