Obituary of Thomas S. Bertelsen

Thomas Sigurd Bertelsen, 70, of Marlborough, beloved husband, father, uncle and friend, died peacefully in his sleep at home on December 31, 2023.  Born on September 22, 1953 in the Bronx, he was predeceased by his parents Sigurd and Trudie (Jensen) Bertelsen and his sisters Nancy Nowak and Carole Carney. He is survived by his loving wife, Janet, their sons Thomas G Bertelsen, Sr. of Manchester CT and Steven C Bertelsen of Marlborough, CT and 2 wonderful grandsons.  He also leaves several nieces and nephews and their families.

Tom grew up in Closter, NJ and attended colleges in FL, NJ and CT, changing his major from marine biology to engineering along the way. He left college when he married Janet in 1977 and they moved to Marlborough a year later. His first engineering job was at King Seeley Thermos in Norwich, where he worked for several years. He eventually earned his BS Engineering degree at UConn in 1984 and then joined United Technologies, and worked at several of its divisions over several years. HIs stroke in November 2014 forced an unexpected retirement from Doosan, a divestiture originally called UTC Power.

He enjoyed attending many of his sons’ school and sporting events, but especially loved spending over 25 years in scouting, starting as a Cub Scout den leader for Tommy to Scoutmaster of Troop 39 in Marlborough after Steven turned 18.  Before becoming Scoutmaster, he joined a parent/scout team to compete in a nationwide rocketry competition. The team made it to the finals held at a military base, which was featured in a national rocketry magazine. He also got a group of his scouts to a weeklong BSA scuba high adventure camp. He had a really special connection with his scouts, even after they left for college and careers. Even after the stroke, he would often go to scout meetings, just to see everyone. The friendship and support of the scouting family has been phenomenal even after Tom’s retirement.

He loved to travel anywhere near an ocean, especially near lighthouses. He liked fishing in streams or saltwater, going to concerts, sailing, and scuba diving, camping, softball, bowling, chess and woodworking.  As his health took a toll on many of these activities, he started doing more yardwork. After his stroke, he joined an awesome speech and language program at UConn which evolved into a weekly book club for people with aphasia, which helped stroke survivors with speaking, reading, writing and gave them internet/web meeting skills during Covid restrictions.

We want to especially thank the awesome dialysis team at Davita in Rocky Hill and Dr Post, the dedicated and compassionate nurses, therapists and aides who worked with Tom from Hartford HealthCare at Home, the BSA Troop 39 family, the UConn Aphasia Group staff and members, and our wonderful neighbors, friends and family for all their help, support and compassion during Tom’s long journey.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 10:00 am at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury. Burial in Marlboro Cemetery in Marlborough will follow. Friends may call on Monday, January 8, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the funeral home. For online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.