Zoltan Berta's Obituary
Zoltan Berta, also known as Zoli, passed away on Good Friday, April 18th, 2025 at 3:36pm. He was born in Budapest, Hungary on January 7th, 1953 where he grew up until age 13 where he, his father, and Susan defected Communist Hungary in 1966. After one year in Copenhagen, Denmark, he immigrated to the United States in Burlingame, San Francisco. In 1969, he moved and settled in San Diego, where he attended Hoover High School, and completed courses at San Diego State, Mesa College, and City College to work as an electronic technician. He was an avid soccer (real football) player and the sports’ biggest fan. Together, he and Frank (the structural engineer) were very frugal and saved lots of money to acquire multiple properties in San Diego in the 80s. Father and son, they worked tirelessly to repair the houses to later help Zoli provide for his future family.
During a Christmas party in 1992, he met his beautiful forever wife, Mayte. Their love grew when they had their first child Cassandra (Cassie) Monica Berta in December 1993. It wasn’t long until a second daughter, Nikky, arrived in October of 1999. He continued his love of soccer by teaching Cassie and Nikky how to play, eventually coaching them both. As Nikky and Cassie grew up and graduated high school and went on to University, he continued to support the entire family with love and care that has shaped them to be who they are today.
Many family trips were taken to explore North America, such as areas like Vancouver in Canada, Seattle, Olympic National Park, Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Sedona in Arizona, Santa Fe in New Mexico, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Tetons National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and Santa Barbara and Baja California on multiple occasions. In Europe, he has traveled to Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, and of course back to Hungary on multiple occasions. When he was younger, he also travelled to Australia, Tasmania, and we believe other ones as well.
If you know Zoli, you know how much he loved music. Multiple times in a week, he would send a link to Youtube or Spotify for a song that he had randomly found. He loved basically every genre. From reggae to folk music, bluegrass, jazz, blues, indie rock, synth-pop, and so much more. He connected with others through his love and sharing of music. His first concert was Donovan back in Europe, and his last was Bikini Trill in November 2024. He has seen The Cure, Billy Bragg, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, Devil Makes Three, Arctic Monkeys, Death Cab for Cutie, Paul Weller, John Prine, Cesaria Evora, Richard Thompson, Tom Jones, John Mellencamp, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Beck, Phoenix, Duran Duran, XTC, Hot Buttered Rum, Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Cafe Tacvba, Marina and the Diamonds (chaperoning Nikky), and many more. At a festival in Pasadena with Nikky, he saw big artists like The Shins, MIA, Modest Mouse, and Interpol. And in San Francisco, he saw many at the Free Folk Festival.
He loved to cook for his family, always called when at a grocery store, loved to visit the House of Hungary, always had random facts ready to throw at you, loved a good family movie night, walked the dogs (sometimes all 3 at once), took care of the chickens and cats, loved to walk around Mesa College, Balboa Park, Coronado, Mission Bay, Miramar Lake, and Seaport Village, loved to eat seafood and vegetables, loved a good beer and soccer game. He loved to go to nurseries, played soccer as an adult until his knee said no more, go on hiking trails, walk on the beach during low tide, and tend to his garden full of tomatoes, fruit trees like apricots, cherries, and figs, and so much more. He loved his Hungarian desserts, especially a good Tokaji wine.
His heart was extremely full and he loved to talk to everyone he met. He was the comedian and talker of the family and was such a calm spirit. His family was able to rely on him for everything, and he rarely complained if he had to do something out of the way. He showed his love in so many ways, it’s going to be hard to miss them all. He will be forever loved by his wife, Mayte Berta, and his two daughters, Veronica (Nikky) Zsazsa Berta and Cassandra (Cassie) Monica Berta. He is at peace now with his loving parents Frank Berta and Zsuzsanna Patakfalvi.
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