Max Erwin Bertholf, 98, passed away peacefully at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke on January 5, 2025. He was born on May 21, 1926, in Spivey, Kansas, and lived in Daleville since 1953.
Dr. Max Bertholf lived a remarkable life, with notable accomplishments in medicine, music, and sports. He graduated from Stanford Medical School and served his medical internship at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, after which he joined the medical practice of Dr. Sam Driver on Williamson Road. Following the retirement of Dr. Driver, he began a solo medical practice in Roanoke City and later Botetourt County. Beginning his medical career as a general practitioner, Bertholf became certified in Family Medicine after the American Board of Family Medicine was established in 1969. He joined Carilion Health Care in 1999 and spent the rest of his medical career with them until his retirement in 2005. After retiring, he continued to serve as medical director for the Roanoke Valley Juvenile Center in Coyner Springs, with the help of his colleague and long-time research collaborator Mary Jo Stafford, R.N. He and Ms. Stafford also contributed to the medical literature, conducting research in his medical office. The results of their studies were published in the Journal of Family Practice (1983) and American Family Physician (1985).
Max Bertholf was an accomplished musician who got his first taste of conducting as a student at Western Maryland College in Westminster, Md. He directed a chorus and a men’s quartet at Stanford while in medical school, and when he moved to Daleville, he became the choir director at Cloverdale Church of the Brethren, a volunteer post he would occupy for 70 years (which is an unverified Guinness World Record). In 1976, Bertholf directed the county-wide chorus assembled for the Botetourt County Bicentennial Pageant, “Echo from the Hills.” In retirement, he directed a chorus at The Glebe, the retirement community in Daleville where he spent the last 17 years of his life. Music was as much a part of his life as medicine, and he shared his love and respect for music with everyone around him.
Never satisfied with just being average, Max always strived to be better at everything he did, including sports. He was a skilled golfer and enjoyed the sport regularly until physical infirmity made it impossible for him to play the game. Hours were spent in the basement of the Bertholf home playing Ping-Pong with his children and friends. He became an accomplished sailor, passing the Power Squadron courses on basic piloting and celestial navigation, and took several sailing vacations with friends and family on the Chesapeake Bay. He enjoyed competitive sailing, and would often quip, “The definition of a sailboat race is two sailboats in the same general vicinity.”
Max Bertholf’s passing leaves a void in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved him. We will miss his gracious manner, his quick wit, his infectious laugh, his wise counsel, his generosity, his enthusiasm for life, and his unconditional love. But we take comfort in the assurance that this Christian servant has been heartily welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven, where he can enjoy the rich reward he earned from a life well lived.
Max Erwin Bertholf was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd and Martha Bertholf; his sister, Mabelyn (Lynn) Bertholf Westcott, and his wife of 69 years, Nancy Layman Bertholf, who passed away in 2019.
His survivors include his wife of over four years, Joan Bowers Bertholf; brother-in-law, John Layman; four children: Susan Bertholf LaRose (Lenny), Carol Bertholf Guessford (Michael), Roger Lloyd Bertholf (Marsha), Kevin Lowell Bertholf (Kris); and informally adopted son, Ron Cassell (Chris). He had nine grandchildren: Greg Jennings (Siobhan), Ryan Jennings, Erick Guessford, Jonathan Guessford, Aaron Bertholf (Kim), Abby Bertholf Sapp (Austin), Lindsey Bertholf Fasnacht (Charlie), Jessica Bertholf Nenner (Mike), and Amelia Cassell Evans (Cory). Great-grandchildren include Aibha and Cedar Jennings, twins Landon and Avery Fasnacht, Elliot Bertholf, and Alden and Audrey Sapp.
The family wishes to thank the staff at The Glebe Health Care Center for their tender and faithful care of Dr. Max over the past seven months.
A memorial service will be held at Cloverdale Church of the Brethren, 4708 Read Mountain Road, Cloverdale, on January 18, 2025, at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Nancy Bertholf Music Fund at Cloverdale Church of the Brethren, P.O. Box 85, Cloverdale, 24077.
