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Bertram, the son of Wilfred and Janine Bertram of Paynesville, was a 1991 graduate of PAHS and an employee of Orkin Pest Control.

An experimental airplane enthusiast, Bertram was working toward earning a private pilot's license.

He was the only passenger in a Pulsar fixed-wing single engine plane, a small experimental aircraft piloted by Timothy Davenport of Sisseton, S.D., who also died in the accident.

According to the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department, the plane took off at about 12:30 p.m. Family members alerted authorities about the missing aircraft later Saturday afternoon, after the men failed to return to the Willmar airport.

After a search conducted by local authorities, the State Highway Patrol, the Civil Air Patrol, and volunteers, the plane was spotted from the air on Sunday morning. It was in a corn field about a mile-and-a-half west of Priam.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, August 21, at 11 a.m. at St. Martin Catholic Church. He will be buried in the St. Martin parish cemetery.

(A full obituary for Roger Bertram can be found on page 8 of this issue.)