Bertha M. Gerrard was born in Portsmouth, VA on January 19, 1921.  She was the oldest of five children born to Margaret Brown and Elmer Watts.

She attended the Portsmouth public schools and graduated from I.C. Norcom High School with honors in three years. Bertha attended Virginia State College, where she graduated Summa cum laude with a Bachelor degree in Education.  She was made a member of Alpha Epsilon Honorary Society and entered Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Her achievements came to the attention of Lillian Smith, the great southern author, resulting in a Rosenwald scholarship to study at the University of Pennsylvania.  There she received a Master's degree in Education.

After two years of teaching in the public schools of Portsmouth, VA, she enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania as a doctoral candidate.   Bertha completed all course requirements for a doctorate.  There, she participated in programs to study the psycho-social development of disadvantaged Philadelphia youth to determine ways to improve their reading skills.  She later taught eight years as the youngest Assistant Professor at Virginia State College.  Her work there involved establishing meaningful curricula for young teachers enrolled in the Master's program.

During World War II, Bertha was active in USO work, and participated in a recruitment program at the University of Pennsylvania.  She also worked in a highly sensitive program for the Air Force.  Her volunteer work at Camp Lee, Petersburg, VA led to her meeting her husband, Robert. He was a young officer returning from a tour of duty in Alaska.

During the period of ten years, when she was home with two young sons, she did volunteer work at P.S. 127 Queens, NY.  She became Chairman of the Education Committee, directing community action and participating in the work of the school.

She later entered employment in the Management Dept. of the NYC Housing Authority, where she received many ratings of distinction for her work.  She was instrumental, and one of the pioneers in centering attention on the need to provide more than housing for troubled families.

Bertha entered eternal life on June 1, 2016.  She was a devoted mother leaving two sons, Michael and Robert Jr.; four grandsons; four granddaughters; two daughters-in-laws; sisters, Margaret Gerrard and Colleen Holmes; brothers, Reverend Herman H. Watts (deceased), and Elmer Watts (deceased); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.