Bertram Gay, Husband to Former Somerville Mayor, Dies

Somerville resident Bertram A. Gay, a machinist, political activist, member of the United Auto Workers Local 1596 union and the King Solomon Masonic Lodge, and husband to former Somerville Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay, passed away on July 24 after struggling with cancer. He was 72.

Gay was born in Wales in 1940 and spent five years in the British Navy as a pipefitter. He met his wife, then a nursing student, at a dance hall in 1963, and they were married for 49 years before his passing, according to an obituary sent to Somerville Patch.

The two moved with their family to the United States in the late 1960s so their son could receive special treatment at Boston Children's Hospital, the obituary says.

It says ge worked for W.R. Grace & Company in Cambridge and the Gaulin Corporation in Everett, where became shop steward for the United Auto Workers Local 1596.

His work with the union introduced him to politicians and politics, and he worked as an advisor and activist for his wife's campaigns for Somerville School Committee, lieutenant governor, governor's council and mayor, the obituary says.

He is survived by his wife; his daughter Geraldine Baker and her family; his son Donald and his family; his sister Doreen Coombe and her family; and his grandchildren: Timmy, Evan, Shannon, Melissa and Brian.

According to the George L. Doherty Funeral Home, at the Powder House Rotary, which is holding his funeral service, calling hours will take place Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The funeral procession will take place Tuesday at 10 a.m. The interment will be private, according to the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bert’s memory to the Mt. Auburn Hospital Development Office, 330 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 or The Hopes Program c/o Mass General Development Office, 165 Cambridge St. Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114.