Dear Susan,
   With Bernie's death, we lost a prince of a man--intelligent, kind, caring, empathetic and more.
   I first met Bernie when we worked together on an Over 50's Association project--can't remember what it was. In due course, Bernie mentioned that he was a runner, as was I. Not long after, the New York Road Runners Club was looking for nominees for their Board of Directors. So, I suggested to Bernie that I thought he would be an excellent candidate. As they say, "The rest is history." Bernie not only was nominated and elected, he became Chairman of the Board.
Deepest condolences, Jacqueline

Dear Susan,
Both Steven and I were so saddened by the news of Bernie's death. You've been in our thoughts and heavy on our hearts. 
I cannot remember a time with Bernie when he did not ask about my 3 (children) And then he sincerely stood there listening, being completely present to whatever I had to say. That always touched me so... Bernie's special way of showing how much he cared. And then there was his giving hand in the NYC Marathon..working his magic to make sure Rebecca could run in it! Wesley told me that Joe's eulogy was simply a beautiful one. Our memories of Bernie are beautiful too.
May the love and warmth of your family and friends help you through this difficult time.
Love,  Janis and Steven and Family

Dear Susan and Family,   

    PLease accept my deepest sympathy on your loss of Bernie.  I remember first meeting Bernie at the 92nd Street Y many years ago. After gradually getting to know him, we would meet from time to time, and run the reservoir. I also have fond memories of meeting him for lunch at PJ Clark's and various other spots. There are times when I tried to get together with him but he couldn't make it because he was stuffing envelopes for  NYRRC at the West Side Y (or elsewhere). It was a privilege to know Bernie and he will forever be in my thoughts. 

Sincerely, 
Don Preven

Dear Susan,
I wanted to celebrate Bernie’s extraordinary vitality, his effortless charm, his wit, his swashbuckling New York City saunter, his lightning quickness and  not only his good humor but the way his humor matched his urban good looks, but I soon realized it was impossible to do justice to Bernie by citing such qualities in the abstract.  It was the particular combination of those qualities in the exact proportion that Bernie had them that was the key.  I always thought of him as the epitome of the Madison Avenue ad man—fast talking and canny, savvy and self-confident to the point of cockiness.  And he’ll always be that for me—he entered the realm of myth right from the start, and he stayed there—I was never disillusioned.  So Bernie’s passing is contradicted for me by his mythic status.   As I got to know Bernie over years, I was struck more and more by his natural intelligence, by his curiosity, and by his compassion—our Bernie was no mere glamour boy.  The fact that Bernie liked me and was my friend is very precious to me—it’s like an assurance that the metal I’m made of must be sterling.  I haven’t mentioned you, Susan, but in fact you are what made the whole thing work:  the beautiful babe with the Boston accent who made Bernie’s image of himself come true.  

Love from us--Kermit and Amy

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Bernard is his ever present smile and the warmth that he projected to everyone around him. He had a strong presence whenever he entered a room. He was charismatic and charming and had the ability to inject humor into any situation. It was impossible to not be captivated by Bernard, he was our tall, handsome American cousin that we all loved before we even knew him well. Though his Russian vocabulary was limited to a few phrases, the word he used most frequently was 'krasavitska', Bernard's rendition of 'beautiful'. He would use it for all the females in our family. 

It's amazing to think that the connection between our families has continued for 92 years after Bernards father, Jack, left his home country to come to the United States in 1919. Jack was the oldest of his three siblings, 5 years older than our grandfather, Eli and 15 years older than his sister Mania. They also had another brother, Peter, who was killed in the war. Despite the distance that separated them, the siblings kept in touch and remained an important part of each others lives through a steady stream of letters and photographs that were sent periodically across the Atlantic. The siblings loved each other very much and instilled that love in their children and grandchildren. Mania insisted that her granddaughter, Yana (the daugher of Roza and Joseph), be named after Jack (Yasha). Jack visited the USSR in 1933 and in 1959 where he reunited with his siblings and their growing families. After Jack passed away Rose, Bernard, and Susan came to the USSR in 1973. When Eli and our mother, Luba, came to meet their American relatives at the airport in Kharkov they had missed when they came out of the gate. Our mother remembers that all of the sudden someone threw his arms around her father and picked him up - it was Bernard! Though he had never met Eli before, he had recognized him from behind because he resembled his own father so much. 

After that trip, Luba and Bernard continued the correspondence that their fathers had maintained for so many years. In 1989 our family decided to immigrate to the US. We remember the phone call that our mom made to Bernard from Italy. She prepared for it for several days, carefully scripting the conversation in English, and what information she was to relay to Bernard. She made a collect call and in a very speedy manner told Bernard that we were due to arrive in NY in a few days on February 28th. That day it was cold and gloomy and we did not know what awaited us in America, but immediately when the sliding doors opened we saw Bernard and Selma smiling and cheerfully welcoming us. We instantly felt comforted that we had reunited with our family and were not alone in the new country. Though Bernard had only met our family once before, he embraced us into his life. A few days after our arrival, he showed us around New York, trying to impress us with all the wonders of America he could think of. It was not hard to impress us, but he took us to Bloomingdales: we had never seen such a big store. When Bernard took us to the doll counter, Anya who was six at the time, did not know what to do, she had never seen such beautiful dolls and in such variety! Our mom kept on nudging her in Russian to not ask for anything, but thankfully Bernard insisted that he buy a doll for her and Anya was very happy that she didn't have to ask herself. We still have that doll and everytime we look at it, we remember Bernard and that day with him. 

When Masha got accepted to Hamilton College, Bernard and Selma drove our family to Clinton, NY to drop off Masha and help her feel at ease in a new place. When Anya was in the 1st grade and broke her arm on the school's rooftop playground, Bernard, our emergency contact, was the first to be notified. He came to hospital with a green dinosaur in his hands and Anya felt so much more at ease with his presence there. Bernard made it a habit of visiting us on Sundays. He would drive up to Washington Heights in his Lincoln Town car with a brown paper bag full of freshly baked bagels. He would come in affectionately squeeze Anya's neck or shoulder or take her hand in his strong grip and say 'how are ya kid?' Our mother would prepare for his arrival by making various Russian dishes to which Bernard would say, 'For god's sakes Luba, have you been cooking for the last 3 days? American men would kill for a woman like you! You hear that, Joseph?' The whole house would light up with Bernard's presence. 

Like true family, Bernard rejoiced when things went well for us and was proud of our achievements and progress. He was always aware of what each of us was doing and encouraged us if we faced difficulties or challenges. Bernard was always caring and thoughtful. When we saw him a week before he passed away, he did not skip a beat and asked how everybody was doing. He was very supportive in times of need. Roza Dekhovich, Mania's daughter, remembers that when her husband, Iosif, passed away, she was very touched that upon her arriving to the funeral home, Bernard was the first one there, offering her his support in that difficult time. 

We will miss Bernard very much and he will be in our thoughts always. We feel fortunate that he was such a big part of our lives and that we had the opportunity to know him. It is comforting to think that Bernard lived life fully. He surrounded himself with family and friends, he excelled professionally, he was an accomplished runner, he enjoyed travelling and meeting new people. For us he will always be our endearing American cousin who welcomed us into his life and made ours richer and more colorful with his company.

To Susan and Family

All of us at the West Side Runners Club in New York mourn Bernie's death -he was a Prince of a Guy, a shining beacon at the NYRR, a true gentleman.

We saw him so often at the races, cheering us on, occasionally also at the Metropolitan Opera (once at a 
Don Giovanni where he introduced you to me and then proceeded during the intermission to discuss NYRR politics which must have been of lesser interest to you than the performance.

I believe Bernie was the most
supportive member of the NYRR Board
of Directors to our WSX team which has so many minorities racing every week.
He cared and that was indicative of his passion for the sport and for fairness in the handling of the NYRR
institution which he so deftly led when he was at the helm as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

We shall miss him dearly and send
our profound sympathy to you, to  all of his relatives and to his numberlos  friends in Brewster and in NYC. Bernie's presence and his unbridled enthusiasm for our competitors will be sorely missed as we chug around
Central Park.   

I know he loved the Cape as well -  

Regards in sorrow


William du Pont Staab, Jr   (Bill)
President - West Side Running Team   

New York City, Harwich and Essex Fells
NJ

Dear Susan,
Carol Langbort shared Bernie's passing with me and I wanted to offer my sincere condolences to you at this  time.  It's been a long time since being in touch but I have thought of you over the years with warm memories of our youth! I always heard what a wonderful guy Bernie was and his obituary speaks to that and his many interests and involvements.  May his memory be for a sacred blessing to you always.

Dear Susan, Beth, Alan, and Selma,
we are sending you our support and love.  Bernard has been such a big part of our family.  We will always carry all the memories about him.  With love, all your Russian family.

Dear Bernie, I will carry your smile, enthusuasm, loving spirit and sincerity with me always.  I am grateful for your friendship.   Dear Susan, my deepest sympathy to you on Bernie's passing.  I wish I could be with you.  with love,  Jen M.

Dear Susan,
I'm very sorry about Bernie's death. I've known you and Bernie for my entire life and love you both.
He made every family event more fun. We'll miss him.

Susan, Beth and Alan:

Our hearts are breaking for your loss.  Bernie was, is and will always be, unique, irascible, entertaining and charmingly blunt.  He made a lasting, loving impression on everyone.  All of you are in our thoughts.  We will miss him.

Dear Susie,

I was saddened to read of Bermie's death.  He was a one of a kind, kind person with sparkle and humanity to boot.  We all shared a love of running, but he did more to insure the Marathon's stability as the head of it's board.  And he was an advertising man as well.  A great profession for idea people.  He had a wonderful life with you.
I hope you are surrounded by family and friends during this hard time and I hope to see you when you are in New York.
Tim joins me in sending our love to you

Sincerely,
Betsy Timberman

Susan - we were so sorry to hear of Bernie's passing, and our thoughts continue to be with you. Love, Marc, Sharon, Jordan and Adam Cohen

Susan, we are so sorry for your loss and extend our deepest condolences to you and your family.

Affectionately, Cindy Luzon and Susan Randall

I was privleged to work with Bernie at NYRR. He was truy of the best!  His professional leadership as well as genuine interst in helping its members and employees will always be remembered.  May our Lord bring him peace and comfort to his wife and family.

I was so sad to read of Bernie's death. I worked at CCL in the 1980s, and he was a wonderful boss and a colorful character--I have so many great memories of him and Susan.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Bernard J. Cooper

Doane Beal & Ames

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