Holyoke MA: Bertram Bandman, 89, died peacefully with his daughter Nancy at his side on Wednesday, October 23rd at 11:14 PM. He was a resident at Renaissance Manor on Cabot in Holyoke.

Bertram was born in Shanghai China, March 6, 1930, to Albert Bandmann and Edith Magnus, both of Hamburg, Germany, who had been living and managing a textile business there since 1927. He attended a British parochial elementary school in Shanghai where as budding philosopher, Bertram was constantly getting his ears pulled because he asked the nuns “why” about almost all matters.

Bertram and his mother Edith fled to Manila, Philippines when the Japanese invaded China in 1937. Soon after, Bertram was sent to live with an American family in Baguio for five years for his health. When the Japanese invaded in 1941-42, the home he was living in was bombed. A white boy mistaken for a member of the American family, Bertram spent a year and a half in a Japanese internment camp. When the war ended, he was reunited with his mother in Manila and worked at the U.S. Army officers’ mess washing dishes. At age 16, Bertram secured entry into the United States and graduated from Hebron Academy in Maine. He then moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. Bertram completed a bachelors’ and masters’ degrees and his Doctorate in Education in 1962.

During his years at Columbia, he resided at the International House and throughout school, Bertram worked as a server in the cafeteria. He met his future wife, Elsie Lucier when she criticized his undersized servings of broccoli. The first of many arguments, they fell in love over their discussions of politics, philosophy, education and health care with never a clear winner.

Bertram became a professor of philosophy at Long Island University at Brooklyn Center where he taught for forty years. The author of over sixty articles on philosophy and other disciplines such as education, health care, and critical inquiry, he wrote and published three books: The Place of Reason in Education, in 1967, Children’s Right to Freedom, Care and Enlightenment in 1999 and The Moral Development of Health Care Professionals in 2003. Bertram co-edited two books with Robert S. Guttchen entitled Philosophical Essays on Teaching and Philosophical Essays on Curriculum in 1969. Bertram co-authored three books with Elsie, a professor of psychiatric nursing: Bioethics and Human Rights in 1978, Critical Thinking in Nursing in 1988 with a second edition published in 1995 and Nursing Ethics In the Life Span in 1985 with a fourth edition published in 2002. He and Elsie frequently shared the podium at nursing and philosophy conventions and seminars speaking on issues of ethics and health care.

In 1985, Bertram and Elsie purchased their first home in Hatfield to be near their daughter Nancy. They enjoyed their weekend and summer visits while maintaining their employment in New York City. Bertram thoroughly enjoyed the bookstores, the college and local libraries and found himself often at The Raven for hours to the frustration of Elsie’s expectations of the day’s “to do” list.

After his retirement in 2003, Bertram participated in the Five College Learning in Retirement program and took turns facilitating and attending seminars. Bertram was a member of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence for many years. In 2009, Bertram and Elsie moved to Applewood where they enjoyed the community’s lively activities. Bertram enjoyed classical music concerts, plays, day trips to museums, and academic lectures. At Elsie’s insistence, he accompanied her to the simulcast Metropolitan Operas at Cinemark in Hadley. He would promptly fall asleep within minutes of finishing his popcorn and Elsie would not hesitate to nudge him when his snoring disturbed the operatic arias.

In January 2017, Bertram lost Elsie, his partner of sixty-six years. Bertram moved from his beloved Applewood apartment to The Arbors in May 2018 and finally in August 2019 to Renaissance Manor on Cabot in Holyoke, a skilled nursing facility.

While at Renaissance Manor, Bertram received additional hospice services from the Holyoke VNA’s Hospice Life Care. The talented and concerned staff members prodded him to participate in activities; he played Bingo for the first time in his life and attended the daily news group, enjoying donuts Elsie would never have allowed. He seemed more content and happy to leave the management of his life to others.

With attentive care from the Renaissance nurses and CNA staff, Bertram’s last hours were comfortable and free from pain. As he took his last breaths, his daughter advised him to go find Elsie and to write another book together.

Bertram is survived by his daughter, Nancy Bandman-Boyle and her partner, Bill Ennen of Hadley, Massachusetts and by his grandson, Sam Boyle of North Adams, Massachusetts. He will be remembered by his long-time friends Pat and Seymour Itzkoff of Florida, and by Richard and Nan Lau, Owners of The Panda Garden Restaurant who always made him feel like a member of their family. Bertram will be missed at Applewood, The Arbors, and Renaissance Manor. The Douglass Funeral Home of Amherst MA has been entrusted with his arrangements. There will be a memorial service in the spring of 2020.

To honor the memory of Bertram, please consider taking some extra time at a dinner with friends and family to discuss an ethical issue, taking care to examine and think deeply about the dimensions of the matter without rushing to form a conclusion; Bertram’s belief was that we should all think more carefully. Donations in Bertram’s memory can be sent to the Holyoke VNA’s Hospice Life Care, 575 Beech Street, Holyoke, MA 01040.