Sandra Bertram Obituary

Sandy passed away on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at her home in Fountain, CO, after a fall. She was born on January 12, 1948, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She graduated from Mitchell High School in 1966, a member of Mitchell's first graduating class. She attended Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado, and then continued her education at the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, graduating in 1970 with a nursing degree. She was a registered nurse and worked in the Oncology Department of Presbyterian Medical Center in Denver. She also did some teaching in Montreal and London on an exchange program. Sandy was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy in 1990 and had endured this disabling disease for twenty years. She inspired all of us with her great courage in dealing with this crippling disability, always somehow through all of it able to maintain her sense of humor and never lost hope of finding treatment that would afford her a better life. Sandy is survived by her husband, Bill Bertram, of Fountain; her parents, Floyd and Edna Carpenter of Calhan; her sister, Lin (Mike) Smith of Colorado Springs; and two brothers, Steve (Nellie) Carpenter and Jeff (Annie) Carpenter both of Colorado Springs. She also leaves three nieces; Shelly (Carl) Martinez and Sara Carpenter, both of Colorado Springs; Corey Carpenter of Pueblo; and three nephews, Shawn (Ellen) Carpenter of Calhan, Andy Linthicum of Colorado Springs and Joe Carpenter, serving in the US Navy in Hawaii. Sandy also had 10 grandnieces and nephews. A Visitation will be held from 9 - 11 am with Funeral Services following at Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 3825 Airport Road, Colorado Springs, CO, on Saturday, March 20, 2010, at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Memorial Gardens Cemetery. In lieu of flowers you may wish to donate in memory of Sandy to the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association. Please visit www.memorialgardensfuneralhome.com for further information.