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Planned Giving Committee Members
Richard Gregory is married to Renee and they have 3 children Richard Jr (32) (married at Bethesda) George (30) and Lillian (28). Richard has been a member of Bethesda since early childhood and attended Sunday school as a child growing up in Palm Beach. Attending Palm Beach Day and Public schools, Saint Andrew's school, and graduating from South Kent School. He went on to finish his college years at Boston University and Saint Peter's University. His parents and grandparents were members starting in the early 1900's. His mother is buried in the columbarium.
Richard spent over 30 years in various senior management roles for leading banking and investment banks in Manhattan finishing his tenure as Head of the Capital Markets division. After returning to the Palm Beach area in 2021 Richard continued his Financial Advisory practice for his clients.
Richard currently heads the Stewardship committee and is a lead usher and hospitality guild member.
James (Jim) Bertles, a member of Bethesda since 1986, grew up in Greenwich, CT and moved to Palm Beach with his wife, Lisa, as a young practicing lawyer on New Year's Day 1986. Both Jim and Lisa have been actively involved with Bethesda in many ways throughout the years, with Jim having previously served on the Vestry for nearly 20 years and as Senior Warden for three Rectors (Hap Warren, Perry Fuller and James Harlan), Junior Warden for one year, and Chancellor for many of his terms.
Jim is a graduate of the Choate School, Amherst College and Fordham University Law School. He became an Episcopalian when he and Lisa were married in 1981, and they very proudly have three grown, married children, Kate (39), Preston (35) and Alex (32), all of whom grew up in Palm Beach and actively attended Bethesda before moving north and west.
John G. Brim was Managing Director of Corporate Finance at UBS and its predecessor company Dillon Read & Co. Previously he was Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers.
John was co-founder in 2002 of corporate advisory firm Hill Street Capital LLC. Hill Street Capital was sold in 2010 to the French bank BNP Paribas, where John served as head of North American Corporate Finance.
John had three international postings including six years in London and 23 trips to Asia managing corporate finance operations.
John's 40+ year career involved hundreds of financings, bond issues, mergers and acquisitions, and debt restructurings.
Since 2015 John has been engaged in corporate advisory, expert witness testimony, and private investing. His recent industry focus has been natural resources, including mining of copper and battery minerals,
Education: Yale University BA; Harvard University MBA
Personal: Married with three grown children.
Joseph H Deary, is now retired after spending his 37 year career primarily in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and South Florida. He spent 27 years in wealth management as a VP primarily with Bank of Boston and Mellon as a senior client contact individual. That position brought him frequently to South Florida. Following that experience he began a second career in fundraising as Director/ Senior Director of Planned Giving for the Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, the same position for the American Heart Association in the Greater Boston area and ended the last 6 years at the Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation in Miami and West Palm Beach.
Joe was educated at Wilbraham Monson Academy, Southern Connecticut State University, has a Certificate in Advanced Study and a Graduate Degree in Economic and Government Policy from Harvard University as well as having attended a three year program in trust, estate planning and settlement, charitable giving and tax at Northwestern University in conjunction with the American Bankers Association.
As a result of his not-for-profit positions, Joe has been a member of the Planned Giving Councils in New England (Boston), Broward, Miami and Palm Beach. He is also a member of the English-Speaking Union in Greenwich and Palm Beach, The Harvard Club of the Palm Beaches, Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.
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