Bernard Michael Appleton

Bernard Appleton was a self-made entrepreneur with unwavering grit and determination to successfully navigate through life’s twists and turns. Although he had little formal education beyond high school, he nevertheless took on demanding challenges of all sorts with determination and success.

Bernard enlisted in the United States Coast Guard toward the end of World War II where he worked as a cook aboard Coast Guard ships. Following his honorable discharge from the Coast Guard, he spent much of his career managing restaurants and food concessions for professional sporting venues. He eventually became fluent in speaking Spanish. This enabled him to work as a food broker in a territory that included Puerto Rico. One of his more whimsical challenges was when he decided, apparently out of the blue, to build a treehouse for my brother and me. It was amazing and we had many great times playing in that treehouse. But Bernard’s challenge that we appreciated most was his determination to support my mother, who he loved very much, and his two children, through thick and thin. From the beginning until the end, Bernard never gave up.