Obituary of Bertrand Leon Poritsky

Judge Bertrand “Bert” Leon Poritsky, loving husband, father, and grandfather passed away peacefully on July 3, after a long illness. Bert was born on October 28, 1934 in Schenectady, NY the second son and third child of Hillel and Elizabeth Leon Poritsky. 

He attended Nott Terrace High School and Dartmouth College from which he graduated in 1956 as a Phi Beta Kappa. He joined the Army, trained as a paratrooper, and was promoted to First Lieutenant. After his Army service, he received a law degree from Columbia and moved to St. Paul where he practiced law. In 1971 he was appointed judge to the Ramsey County Municipal Court, and to District Court in 1983. 

Though he retired in 1998, he continued to sit on the bench part-time in the Minnesota State Court of Appeals, and served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis, and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. He authored the Minnesota Evidence Trial Book and was an advisor to the Minnesota State Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence. 

Bert was never happier than when he was sailing, writing, enjoying live music, and traveling with his beloved wife Nancy -- especially if there was a train or sailboat involved. Bert was preceded in death by his parents, brother Raphael of Hudson, OH, and sister Marguerite of Urbana, IL. He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughters Janet (Betty) Poritsky Ray and Lynne Markova; granddaughter Ruby Ray Schardt, and his niece and nephews. Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association. A memorial service will be held at Unity Church, Unitarian, 733 Portland Avenue, St Paul, MN, on October 5, 2024. More details are coming soon. 

The family asks anyone who knew Bert to share a memory or tribute on the Tribute Wall of this website.