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Pleasanton businessman Chris Beratlis dies at 77
Main Street property owner was active in civic affairs

Services for Chris Beratlis, a longtime city, civic and business leader and rancher, will be held at noon Tuesday at St. Augustine Catholic Church with interment following at Pleasanton Memorial Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Veterans Memorial Building. Visitation for Mr. Beratlis will be from 5-9 p.m. Monday at Graham-Hitch Funeral Home.

Mr. Beratlis, who was 77, was born in Pleasanton and was a 1953 graduate of Amador Valley High School. From the time he was young, he was part of Pleasanton's growth and development, investing in properties on Main Street and in upper Vintage Hills, where he and his wife Glenda made their home. Always active in the Pleasanton Downtown Association, he spearheaded the successful drive to have the city of Pleasanton acquire the public cemetery on Sunol Boulevard from the Odd Fellows organization.

The acreage surrounding the Beratlis home on Crellin Road was one of the last ranches in Pleasanton. For years, parents who built new homes in the area would take their kids to see the sheep and cattle that grazed on the property. Each Christmas, he decorated an old barn on Crellin with festive Christmas lights. Where Mr. Beratlis' 50 head of cattle and 125 sheep once grazed, there are now $1 million-plus homes atop Vintage Hills that are part of the Vintage Heights I, Vintage Heights II and Foxborough Estates communities. Montevino Drive now extends from Crellin to Vineyard Avenue through one of his choice grazing sites.

Knowing of his illness, several hundred friends saluted him March 31 at a reception at Gay 90s Pizza, with Mr. Bertalis and Glenda greeting guest for much of the evening. That was to be his last public get-together.

Besides his wife, he is survived by their son Chris Jr. who owns and operates Beratlis Automotive at 3597 Nevada St. Another son, David, was killed in an auto accident in 1990. His parents established the David Beratlis Memorial Scholarship at Amador which provides financial aid to graduates heading to college.