Part Two
"But That Was the Kind of Guy He Was"
Delivered at a memorial gathering organized by Bert's co-workers, 2004
On March 22nd he was prematurely taken away from us. The shock of his loss is something that is still felt by his family, friends and business associates. We will never again experience his wit, charm and intelligence but we do have our memories that will stay with us for as long as we live.
Having given the sad eulogy at Bert's funeral I told myself that tonight's speech would be one of a lighter nature. It would be one in which I will recall some of the anecdotes and lighter moments that we experienced. It would be one in which I will share information about Bert's life that some of you are unaware of. I'd like to thank Bert's brother John for providing me with detailed information about Bert that I was only generally aware of.
Origins
Bert's beginnings were humble. He was born in a village called Raminho on the island of Terceira, which means three in Portuguese. It is the third island in a chain of nine off the coast of mainland Portugal that was discovered by the Portuguese some 7 centuries ago. Living in Fall River where 65% of the population is of Portuguese decent and being married to a foreign born Portuguese woman I have seen first hand how proud they are of their culture and heritage as was Bert.
Bert told me that the home he was brought up in overlooked the Atlantic Ocean where he and his brothers helped his father till the land. He'd run around the farm with no shoes on doing whatever task his father asked. He was very close to his parents, whom he described as quiet, industrious, loving people who brought him up with the values he carried throughout his life. The home had a dirt floor and money was tight, but there was always an abundance of food and love. Bert always reflected on those years as some of the happiest of his life.
He was one of six brothers: Antonio, John, David, Daniel, and Nelio.
The Seminary
Bert told me that he realized that the only way that a child of a poor family could get a decent education in the Azores in those days was to join the seminary. So with his parent's encouragement and support Bert was enrolled. At the seminary Bert developed his mind by studying philosophy, mathematics, and history. For eight years his thirst for knowledge overshadowed his disdain for the strict and structured life he was living. He finally went to the lead priest and told him how he felt. Bert told me that the priest felt the same way and that he should leave and seek a life in the secular community.
Coming to America
After having a hard time finding a job on his island Bert and his older brother Antonio came to the United States in January 1979 to find a better life. He lived in Cambridge with his brother and got a job as a janitor at the St. Anthony's Shrine (Franciscan order) in Boston. Bert's brother John had migrated to the United States some years before and was a priest at a Portuguese Church in East Cambridge. He found out about the job in a church bulletin. He gladly took the job and was happy to be working.
Bert was always proud of that job and used to remind John Reilly and me whenever we walked by the shrine about how good he was at keeping the place clean, especially the toilets. He said it was good hard honest labor and that he respected anyone who made a living this way.
Later in 1979 Bert entered State service working for the Department of Welfare. It was then that he enrolled at Bridgewater State College and obtained his degree in psychology summa cum laude.
Family
While living in Cambridge he met his lovely wife Maria. Bert was smitten with her and in 1981 they were married and moved to Taunton. On July 10, 1983 his first child Daniel, or Danny as he prefers to be called, was born. On March 7, 1987 his second child Anthony was born. Laura his third child was born on January 26, 1989. They are now 21, 17 and 15. Way too young to be without a Dad.
Career
Bert learned the Human Resource ropes while working for the Department of Welfare and when an opportunity presented itself where he could rise to his potential Bert leaped at it. In 1993 he applied for and was given the position of Director of Human Resources for a brand new spin off agency called the Division of Medical Assistance. With Gloria Albano by his side along with a few other staff folks Bert built the department into one of the finest HR departments in the state. Even though he picked on her constantly, and she on him, his respect and love for Gloria was something that everyone knew and felt. One of the last conversations he had was with her.
His commitment to his staff and to his customers that they served was unparalleled. Customer questions and problems had to be resolved that day if possible, and if not his staff would have to follow-up with the customer and inform them as to why the problem had not been resolved.
He soon sought after and received his Certification in Human Resources. Arduous studying and preparation put Bert in a position where he passed the difficult exam with flying colors. This certification is on the same level as what a CPA is to an accountant. I believe that there are only 84 in the entire state of Massachusetts. He proudly hung his certification on a wall behind his desk next to an aerial photo of the Azorean island of his birth.
Bert's thirst for knowledge didn't stop there. He enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Massachusetts where he excelled in all of his studies and received his MBA.
The Three Amigos
I have known Bert for 10 years. I first met him after I sold my seven day care businesses and came to the agency in 1994. After working in Member Services for 7 years Bert offered me a position in his department as the Manager of Employee Services. I'm not the kind of guy who makes friends easily, but Bert and I soon became close friends. Bert, John Reilly and I shared lunch each day where we discussed everything from golfing to hunting UFO's. I haven't caught one yet but I'm working on it. There was a sort of bond that we all shared. People called us the 3 amigos, the 3 musketeers, and in some cases disparagingly the 3 stooges. Also a part of this group was Lisa Pace-Tucker… a smart, witty, outrageous, and very funny person. We learned many things from Bert, but we also taught him things.
John Reilly taught Bert new words. Words that even teamsters wouldn't use in front of other teamsters. No matter what the mood, John would always have us rolling on the floor with laughter with his pungent social commentary and jokes. John taught Bert that it was ok to be one of the boys now and then and it was ok to do some knuckle dragging and chest banging. Antics that we of the male species often do.
Lisa taught Bert that women were intelligent, witty and funny as men. He had a great respect for her humor and her aggressive get things done attitude.
Gloria Albano was that little angel who sits on your shoulder and tells you when you're doing good or bad. This hard working, tough talking lady had a heart of gold and Bert knew it and respected her.
Lee Fitzgerald's work ethic was something that Bert admired. He would often get emails from her at three o'clock in the morning informing him that she had finished the project he wanted and that it would be on his desk at eight AM.
Grace Rugnetta's gregarious personality and tenacity were traits that Bert regarded as assets to his department. I remember when I came up with the brainchild of taking over the payroll function for the agency and making Grace its supervisor. Bert and I arranged a meeting in his office and presented the idea to Grace. She went off like a rocket on the fourth of July. Waving her Italian arms in the air as she spoke, looking as though she were about to take flight. She kept on repeating all the reasons why she shouldn't do it. When she finally got through her last, "I CAN'T, AND I WON'T" Bert and I looked at each other and Bert then asked her, "Can I take that as a yes?" She looked at the both of us and said yes. She then took charge of the department and did her magic, bringing the error rate down from 5% to near zero in just three months.
Bert respected and admired Howard Caplan for his quick mind, his strong work ethic and his ability to stand in front of people and convey a message in a way that had you laughing and crying at the same time. Bert enjoyed Howard's mastery of words and his twisted sense of humor. After the last get together as the DMA agency at the Federal Reserve Building Bert found Howard's presentation of "Commissioner's in a bottle" absolutely hilarious. Sitting next to Bert he just rolled back in forth in his chair in laughter as Howard held up a bottle containing a clay likeness of Bruce... beard and all. Bert said it looked like Bill from Saturday Night Live.
I believe that I taught Bert that it's ok to delve into bizarre mental contortions. It's ok to go into that dark place now and then. That there are some interesting things in there. He often told me that, "Falconero you're wired a lot different than most people I know." I told him that my wife liked to call me delightfully demented. I'd share some bizarre line of thinking with him and he'd sit there as though he were seriously grasping all I said and then he would break in laughter. Having written 8 novels he asked me if he could read one. Like me, he was an avid reader and liked to read novels in any of the three languages that he was fluent in: English, Portuguese and Spanish. After about two weeks he brought the manuscript to my office and asked, "Falconero, did you write this?" I replied yes. He then said, "You're sick man, but I liked it."
On another occasion I came into his office on a Monday morning before work and told him that over the week-end I had been hearing voices in my head. I told him that the voices seemed to be telling me to do awful things, but that I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me to do because the voices were in Spanish and that I didn't understand Spanish. He walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Please let me know when you learn Spanish."
Bert was also fascinated by the spreadsheets that I created. He called me the spreadsheet king. Once when I was calculating all of the gyrations and scenarios of the last Early Retirement Program I brought him a spreadsheet that I had created that was about 2½ feet long. I had printed and scotch taped together this humongous series of thousands of numbers that resembled a table cloth. He looked at it and asked, "What the hell is this?" I told him what it was and he laughed. He told me to roll it up and put in on a spindle in the men's room and to bring him a one page summation.
Being married to a Portuguese woman and being surrounded by brother in laws who all look like they eat nails for breakfast I would often pick up on their lingo. I remember coming into work one morning and telling Bert that I had learned some new Portuguese words over the weekend. I no sooner got the first Portuguese word out of my mouth when Bert went flying across the room and quickly shut his office door.
Newport Jazz Festival
In 1993 when job pressures began to mount for Bert the three amigos headed for the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the festival it is held annually at Fort Adams in Newport. The audience area is outside and the seating is on terra firma. You sit on the ground. I brought three folding chairs and Bert and I plunked ourselves down on ours. When John lowered his body on to canvas covered aluminum chair it crumbled around his weight encasing his body in a twisted wreck of metal and cloth. Bert laughed so hard that he cried. He asked John if everything was ok and John smiled and said everything was fine. He sat there for two hours his body encased in twisted metal and canvas like a cocoon.
"But That Was the Kind of Guy He Was"
What kind of a guy was Bert? Well I'll tell you.
Through his wisdom Bert felt that there was going to be some sort of drastic change in the HR department a year before it actually occurred. Through attrition and by transferring folks out of HR he reduced our staff by some 50%. For that year we all worked twice as hard getting the payroll out, recruiting staff, setting up employee benefits, and handling customer questions and complaints. When we were told that the HR department was about to be disbanded Bert's foresight paid off. No one in the HR department was laid off. We all had jobs. He made sure that we were all placed.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
When Lee Fitzgerald requested that she be given time off to go to China to get her beautiful daughter and then take nearly a year off to be able to create a nest for Gia, Bert approved her time off.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
When Bert found out that his brother David was weeks away from dying of kidney failure, Bert stepped up to the plate and donated one of his kidneys so his brother may live.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
Bert always made sure that employees were always well informed of their benefits, rights, and compensation. He insisted that all step increases, union increases, or any other adjustments to benefits or salary be accompanied by a detailed correspondence informing the employee of the change and allowing that employee to respond.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
Bert insisted on and encouraged staff development. He created programs and participated in initiatives that provided employees not with just general job training, but with diversity training, Excel training, Access training, warehouse training and management training for executive and management staff.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
In spite of the tremendous pressures and deadlines that his job imposed on him, his door was always open. You could sit down with him and discuss work or personal problems whenever they arose. He was wise beyond his years. You could speak knowing that your conversations with him were respected and privileged information.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
When I last sat and talked with Bert three days before he died instead of talking about his own health problems he was very concerned about John Reilly and his daughter. As most 15 year olds do, John's daughter and he were having problems communicating. Bert told me that it was not his place to interfere but instead asked me to intervene and speak with John. He said that a man and his child should be close during those teen years and that he wished that for John. Bert was more concerned about others than he was about himself.
But that was the kind of guy he was.
The Brothers
It is interesting to note that all of Bert's surviving brothers are educated and productive citizens in society. Bert's brother Antonio died in 1986 of heart failure. John works for DSS as a Foster Care Reviewer, David works for the city hospital, Daniel owns his own transportation business, and Nelio obtained his PhD in Sociology and was appointed as the Commissioner of Human Services and Social Security of the nine islands of the Azores. He's held this position for the past 6 years. In this cabinet level position he reports directly to the President of the Azores. He is so respected that when the prior parliamentary government was voted out of office, Nelio was asked to stay on.
The Children
Bert's son Danny is in his sophomore year at Emmanuel College, his son Anthony is a senior at Taunton High School and his daughter Laura a sophomore at Taunton High. Because of Bert's example and emphasis on education, they are all honor roll and dean's list students. A fact that Bert was extremely proud of.
But once again, that was the kind of guy he was.
The Work Ethic
It was not unusual to work 60 and 70 hours a week in the HR department. Some nights I'd pack up my stuff to leave around eight o'clock and pass by Bert's office where he would be glued to his computer screen preparing some information for a meeting the next day.
After leaving I'd continue my work at home via VPN and suddenly out of the clear blue I'd get an email from Bert. We'd then criticize each other via email for still working at 10 o'clock at night. I'd then send him some bizarre thought that flashed between my synapses that moment and he'd respond, "I needed that, you're crazy… sounds as though you need sleep… go to bed."
Closing
In concluding I'd just like to say that the world has lost a great intellect who had a wonderful future and that we've lost an exceptional colleague and good friend. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Bert. His calm nature, his sound logic, his brilliant intellect, and his infectious humor are all the things that we will remember him by.
In the Summer time Bert, John and I would go walking along the Charles River, where small sail boats glided gracefully in the wind, perspiring joggers would move like gazelles along the paved pathway, and lovers would sit on the grass near the water sharing lunch as they leaned into each other's bodies. Bert often said that he loved this place and that one day when his children were on their own he wished to move back here and enjoy walks along this mesmerizing river. During one of our conversations while walking along the Charles he stated that if he should die he wanted his ashes to be scattered on this place. He must have mentioned this thought to his family because they honored Bert's wish.
So the next time you walk along the Charles stop and think about our good friend. Bert is now a part of the grass, water, air and sky. His presence in this place is now one with the continuing cycle of life. The cycle that recognizes that the tides of the harbor meet the waters of the Charles that also meet the waters at the tip of Terceira, and finally meet again at the island of his birth. His final wish would complete the circle of his life.
As they say in Portuguese, "Adeus, meu amigo" which means "Goodbye, my friend." We all miss you.