Michael R. Bertelsen

Michael R. Bertelsen, 63 of Aledo, Illinois passed away Sunday, May 28, 2023 at home.  Visitation is 3-7 p.m. Sunday, June 4, 2023 at Fippinger Funeral Home in Aledo.  Services are 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 5, 2023 at Fippinger’s where memorials may be made to the Mercer County 4H Foundation, Mercer County FFA Alumni or the Mercer County Agricultural Society.  Interment will be at the Hamlet Cemetery.  Online condolences may be made at www.fippingerfuneralhome.com.

Mike was born August 18, 1959 in Monmouth, Illinois to Jack and Laura Jane Sackman Bertelsen.  He graduated from Aledo High School in 1977 and attended St. Ambrose University for two years.  Mike married Sandra West on May 23, 1981 and later married Karen Cooper October 26, 2019 in Taylor Ridge, Illinois.

He was a music director and disc jockey for country radio in Natchez, Mississippi and Jackson, Tennessee.  In 1993, he returned to Aledo and was the Mercer County Treasurer for over twenty years.  Mike was later employed at Skinner Landscaping and retired from WRMJ in August 2021.

Mike was a member of 4H, FFA and the Aledo Jaycees.  He was currently attending Grace Church in Rock Island.

He was an avid New York Jets and Chicago White Sox fan.  Having been a Civil War history buff, he especially enjoyed traveling to various battlefields.  Mike loved yardwork and listening to local live bands.

Survivors include his wife, Karen; children, Derek (Nelson Capetillo) Bertelsen of Chicago, Illinois; Jackie (Kyle) Leng of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland; stepchildren:  Dale (Amanda) Biddle of Aledo, Illinois; Cheryl Baker of Decatur, Indiana; Michelle (Adam) Carle of Joy, Illinois; Sarah Gilmour of Aledo, Illinois; one granddaughter, Lynnux; 10 step-grandchildren; siblings, Laura England of Lake Ozark, Missouri, Andy (Lexia Henderson) Bertelsen of Flagstaff, Arizona; 4 step-brothers, Kevin, Mark and Todd Chandler, all of Oquawka, Illinois; Gary Cooper Jr. of  Mount Calvary, Wisconsin; 2 nephews; 1 niece; 3 step-nieces and 6 step-nephews; two aunts, Jane (Eugene) Fisher of Galesburg, Illinois; Carol (Sam) Rausch of Oyster Bay, New York; mother and father-in-law, Gary and Leota Cooper of Aledo, Illinois; cousin, Adrienne Cirrincione of Chicago, Illinois; special friend, Bill Starrs of Mesa, Arizona. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; stepfather, Melvin “Chick” Chandler; two cousins, Meredith Fisher and Jon Rausch.