Maria Ute Berntson passed away unexpectedly on August 26th, 2021, at her home in Ventura. She will be missed immensely by her beloved family and friends.
Maria was born in Augsburg, Germany, in 1943 and met and married Boyd Berntson in Munich, where they had their first daughter, Susan. The family relocated to New Orleans, where their second daughter, Stefanie, was born. Maria loved living there (except for the humidity!) because it reminded her of Europe, but a job opportunity took them to Bakersfield, California.
After becoming a single parent, Maria worked tirelessly to put herself through school (graduating magna cum laude from CSUB in 1979) and to provide opportunities for her children and grandchildren to follow their dreams. It’s hard to imagine a harder worker.
Outside of her profession as a CPA (first in Bakersfield, then in Ventura as a partner at Lindsay & Company), Maria was passionate about making a difference in the world through service in Rotary and she loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom she adored. Although her dream of a retirement filled with relaxation, travel, and more time with family will go unrealized, she got so much enjoyment from her volunteer and service work, living by the ocean, and—most especially—her coveted role as Grammy.
A celebration of Maria’s life will be held on Saturday, September 4th, at 1:00pm at Boyko & Reardon Telegraph Road Funeral Home, 15 Teloma Drive, Ventura, CA.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rotary Foundation.