The Life of Robert Sherrill Bersch
Robert S. “Bob” Bersch of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at the age of 88.
He is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Martha Ratledge Bersch.
He was preceded in death by his parents, B. Ernest Bersch and Mary D. Bersch of Lynchburg, Virginia.
Bob began his business career at age nine as a newsboy for the Lynchburg News and Daily Advance and later worked at several banks and a CPA firm. He was 1953 class president at EC Glass High School. He graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce with distinction in 1957 and an LLB from the law school in 1960. He earned a Master’s Degree in Law and Taxation at the College of William and Mary in 1961. He was a tax attorney with the Tax Court Division in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, DC from 1961 to 1965 and practiced with a Washington law firm from 1965 to 1970. He joined the Roanoke law firm of Eggleston, Holton, Butler and Glenn as its first tax partner in 1970, beginning fifty years of practice in the Roanoke Valley. He formed his own firm, Robert S. Bersch Law Offices, PC, in 1978, which later became Bersch, Rhodes and Butler, PC. He founded the Bersch Law Firm PC in 2005 and later in 2009 he started a new division of that firm, Wills on Wheels. Bob loved the law and worked until 2020 when he retired at age eighty-five after sixty years of practice.
Bob was named by his peers and the judiciary (2016) to be among the Best Lawyers in America and had the highest rating for legal ability and ethics from Martindale-Hubbell until his death. He was also named among the Best Attorneys in Virginia (2012), a Legal Eagle by Virginia Living (2012) and one of Virginia’s Top Lawyers by the Richmond Times Dispatch (2011). He was an accredited Estate Planner through the National Association of Estate Planners, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
He was affiliated with the United States Supreme Court Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia State Bar, and the Roanoke Bar Association as well as lecturing at numerous professional seminars free to the public.
He was Past President of the Roanoke Valley Estate Planning Council, the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, the Kiwanis Club of Big Lick, the Big Lick Breakfast Club, LT Governor, as well as Risk Manager and Certified Trainer for the Kiwanis’ Capital District. He belonged to Pleasants Lodge and Kazim Temple.
He was a Baptist Deacon Chairman in Alexandria, Virginia, and a member of Roanoke’s First Baptist Church as well as Roanoke’s Second Presbyterian Church.
His hobbies included local, national, and international travel, tennis, baseball, and all University of Virginia sports. He enjoyed Smith Mountain Lake, the computer, as well as vocal and instrumental music. He played drums in the EC Glass High School Band, the UVA Band, and the Roanoke Valley Community Band. He was business manager of the UVA Glee Club and sang tenor with the group. He sang in several church choirs as well as the Roanoke Barbershoppers, “The Virginia Gentlemen”.
A service celebrating the Resurrection and Bob’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at Second Presbyterian Church, 214 Mountain Ave., SW, Roanoke, Va. Condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.Oakeys.com.