Bernard Weitzner was born in the Bronx on May 26, 1928. When he was nineteen, Bernie took a bus from New York to Miami Beach and got a job at the Raleigh hotel on the beach the afternoon he arrived. Bernie bought a classic silver Airstream trailer, which he towed behind his 1956 Chrysler New Yorker on a cross-country road trip with his mother, Yetta. Bernie honorably served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army in the Korean War. After the war, Bernie continued working on Miami Beach until he retired. While working at the Olympia motel in the early 1970s, he met Mary Rafter, who grew up in Ballina, Ireland, and had moved to Miami Beach with a family for which she was working as a governess. Bernie and Mary married and raised four wonderful children, Michael, Robert, John, and Katherine in North Miami Beach. Bernie loved the beach and the old west and loved riding horses. Bernie’s beloved wife Mary passed away in 2015, and Bernie passed away on September 21, 2024, at the age of 96. Bernie is survived by his children Michael, Robbie, John and Katie, and grandchildren, Matthew, Nate, Jacob, Lucas, Emma, and Mari, all of whom loved him very much.
A Celebration of Life Service for Bernard will be held Monday 11:00 AM at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels, 17250 W. Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. A shiva will be observed following the service until 7PM, at 2010 NE 211 Street, Miami, FL 33179.
