Bertram Johannes Meier

April 18,1951 Lingen, Germany - March 1, 2022 Edmonton, AB

Bertram passed away peacefully in his sleep at home surrounded by his loving family. Left to mourn his loss are his siblings: Mary who lovingly devoted years to his care, Martina (Ted), Monica, Rio (Guy), John (Rebecca); two nieces, two nephews and ten grand-nieces/nephews, Aunt Maria, Tante Gretel, Aunt Janet as well as a large extended family. Bert was predeceased by his parents Helen and John Meier. Bertram’s life was full and rich. He was always much loved by his Mom, Dad and siblings. Bert was born with Down Syndrome, and he was loved all the more. We were the lucky ones to have had Bert in our lives. Memories of Bert will be forever cherished by all who knew him.

Bertram was born in Lingen, Germany and emigrated with his family to Regina, SK in the 1950s. As a child, Bert was very active on his blue tricycle, ripping around the neighborhood. Bert made fast friends with the neighbourhood kids like we all did.

Although Bert is the second child in the family, he went to school first, much to the chagrin of his older sister Martina. At four years of age Bert was enrolled in a special needs school in Regina. The school was founded by Dr. DeGroot and a number of other concerned parents of children with Down syndrome.

When we, the younger kids came along, Bert was assigned chores to do like feed us our bottles and rock us to sleep in his arms. Bert was a very gentle person. His siblings always had fun playing with him. On hot summer afternoons, there were water fights in our backyard. Bert loved it when he completely soaked us with a full tub of water!

In the 1960s our family moved to Sherwood Park, AB. Bert attended the Winnifred Stewart School in Edmonton. He would attend the school socials and all the girls would ask Bert to dance. Dancing was obviously something he loved to do, especially at family weddings. Another thing Bert learned to do at school was swimming, and it turned out he was pretty good at it.

Sunday’s we all got dressed up to go to church. Bert always looked dapper in his outfits and liked wearing his preferred short-sleeved shirts. Many times, after church we would all pack up in the car and go for a drive around town, stop at a DQ and each get a soft ice cream cone.

Bert had a love for food. Hamburgers were one of his favorites. Sometimes we’d go to McDonalds with Bert and if he was having a great time, he was a little reluctant to leave. With the promise of coming back another day, he would finally agree to go.

As Bert transitioned from being a teenager to an adult, he became “Mr. Cool.” Bert was into Elvis Presley and he could he move his hips to rock ‘n roll music just like Elvis. At Christmas if Bert got a musical instrument like a guitar or keyboards, he would just start playing away singing and dancing along to the music. And Bert loved being the passenger in the car when Mary would take him on long rides into the country on sunny weekends, Bert listening and singing to songs playing on the radio.

Music was always something he loved. Bert’s CD collection had grown quite large over the years and there was usually always something playing in the background in his room at home for his comfort and joy.

As he got older, Bert had his own desk in the sitting room where he and our parents spent many evenings together. Bert would take meticulous care arranging all the items on his desk. Magazines, newspapers, puzzles, wool, weaving loom, a current craft project, Archie magazines, scissors and more magazines and a collection of pens that he valued very much. Bert would always have 1 to 5 pens in his shirt pocket at any given time and credit cards. Every couple of months, the magazines got stacked so high, it was hard to find Bert sitting in between them all. Those magazines mattered to him. Among some of Bert’s favorite hobbies were: weaving, rug hooking, working on picture puzzles, his collection of clippings, and most of all, drawing hearts, some of them with happy faces.

We had cats and dogs growing up and they loved Bert because he was always so loving and tender with them. He also liked snakes and horses. For many years, on Saturday’s, Bert joined his “Happy Rollers” bowling league team at Bonnie Boon Mall. Bert rarely missed the weekly enjoyment he had bowling with friends.

Bert the ham. He was always ready to pose when a camera was pointed in his direction. We have many years of his annual bowling pictures. As an older adult, Bert also bowled at Sherwood Park Lanes with the Robin Hood League and had more fun times bowling and attending the bowling banquets. He also had many trophies and medals he proudly displayed in his room at home.

Bert also worked at the Western Industrial Research and Training Centre and at a few sheltered workshops until he retired. Bert had no problem adjusting to retirement. Now he more time to go shopping. Bert frequented the neighbourhood Dollar Store. Whenever he went there and bought an item, he always expected change back. Even when he paid with the exact amount. He was always surprised, and not happy, when the cashier did not offer him any back. He’d wait there holding out his hand.

After Dad retired, he Mom and Bert became Snowbirds. They loved taking road trips together. They would trek through Canada, USA and Mexico. The casinos and the slot machines would become an attraction for Mom and Bert in Las Vegas. Bert’s favorite trick was to get money from Mom to play, pocket the winnings and then ask Mom for more coin. He had no intention of using any of his winnings.

These memories are all so dear and precious. We all loved Bert and will miss him dearly.

The family would also like to especially thank all the caregivers Bertram had over the years.

In lieu of flowers, and to remember Bert, donations may be made to: Winnifred Stewart at winnifredstewart.com or Heart & Stroke at heartandstroke.ca