Concord, NH – Bert Pousma Jr., 90, of Concord, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on October 29, 2026, at his home. His calm and intelligent presence will be missed and remembered with love by his wife Joan and their extended family.
Bert was born in Denver, Colorado, to Irene and Bert Pousma Sr. and spent his early childhood in New Mexico, where his father worked with the Navajo Nation. In the 1940s the family moved to a close-knit Dutch community in south Denver, near Platt Park. They attended the Christian Reformed Church and Bert went to the church’s private school.
Bert’s life wasn’t always easy. When Bert was young, his father left the family. Bert recalled that his mother didn’t want to use his father’s name, so she would always call Bert “son,” and for many years he considered that his name.
Bert studied architectural engineering at the University of Colorado, then worked for an architecture firm in Denver. His budding career was disrupted on Christmas Eve by an Army draft notice. He joined the Signal Corps and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, where his tour was extended when the Berlin Wall went up.
In the 1960s, Bert moved to San Francisco. At first he attended the Dutch Reformed Church in Alameda, then First Presbyterian in Berkeley. He found church to be a welcoming social scene but was not particularly religious.
In 1989 Bert was recruited to Boston to work on the Big Dig project. To make friends he joined Mensa and the Boston Beanstalks tall club, where he and Joan met and bonded at dinner one evening over a shared indifference to cats.
Bert and Joan soon married. They enjoyed city life in Boston, watching Fourth of July fireworks burst outside the window of their high-rise apartment. Bert’s love of organ music and Bach brought them to Episcopal services. He was an involved and beloved uncle to their nieces, sharing his love of books, music, and classic film, and his appreciation of what he called “objective information,” the source of his rational approach to life.
After retirement, they maintained homes in New Hampshire and Florida for many years. Bert was Joan’s rock, always ready to welcome her home from her many travels and adventures over the decades.
In recent family history interviews, Bert said of the past, “I always say there’s not a single point in having regrets because you can’t change anything.” When asked about supporting and welcoming his nieces’ visits, he said, “I didn’t think I was being such a good guy, I was just – I wanted to help and I wanted to be liked.”
Bert is survived by his wife, Joan Wood, and his sisters-in-law, Nancy, Donna, and Marlene; and his nieces and nephews, Jeannette, Danielle, Douglas, and Daniel. Bert is predeceased by his brother, John.
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