1938-2025
Bruce Adrian Bertholon, son of Albert Claude and Carolyn Hagerman-Bertholon of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, died peacefully Monday afternoon, October 6, 2025, surrounded by friends and family. He was 86 years old.
Bruce spent his formative years in Glen Ridge and enjoyed active summers in the seaside community of Normandy Beach before graduating from the Lawrenceville School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and a master’s in accounting from Rutgers Business School in Newark, New Jersey.
After college, Bruce returned to his hometown of Glen Ridge, married and started a family. He entered the insurance industry in 1961, eventually serving on the board of Bertholon Rowland, Inc. where he ran the association group business for the state of New Jersey. The company, co-founded by his father, maintained offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for more than half a century. Bruce was also active in community organizations during his professional life and served as president of the Glen Ridge chapter of Rotary International. He was also a longtime member of the Mad River Valley Rotary Club.
Bruce was a fixture in Normandy Beach throughout the 1970s and 1980s and volunteered his time to the Normandy Beach Improvement Association leading both the beach maintenance team and lifeguard squad during the busy summer months. He was a legacy member of the Normandy Beach Yacht Club as well and served as Commodore in 1977. Bruce was an avid outdoorsman for most of his life and enjoyed competitive sailing, surfing, body surfing, dirt biking, alpine skiing, and tennis. He also found time to earn a black belt in Goshin-Kai Karate, and achieved his instrument rating as a private pilot in the early 1990s. Close friends admiring his grit dubbed him, “The Captain.”
Family ski trips to the Sugarbush in Warren, Vermont, became a regular thing in the early 1970s. It was a routine that led to lifelong friendships and membership in the Sugarbush Ski Club 10 which Bruce maintained for more than 30 years. He grew to love the Mad River Valley and eventually retired there.
Bruce will be remembered for his kindness, consistency, and sense of fairness, always willing to lend a hand or to be of service to others. He is survived by his close friend and housemate Paul Ruetzler of East Warren, sister Claudia Denyse Rawding of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and five nephews (George, Michael, Albert, Christopher, and Timothy) and two children from his marriage to Sally Ann Longbotham: Denise Frias (and husband David) of Lake Forest, California, John Bertholon of Brielle, NJ, and five grandchildren: Carolyn Marie Frias, Daniel Vincent Frias, Camille Madelaine Bertholon, Pauline Marie Bertholon and John Ryan Bertholon.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Dementia Society of America and other accredited organizations researching effective treatments and prevention strategies for mixed dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
A Celebration of Life takes place at the Normandy Beach Yacht Club – South CT. Normandy Beach, NJ, on October 25, 2025 from noon to 4 p.m.
