Bernard A., 92, a longtime resident of Fort Lee, died October 26, 2020. Born in New York City, NY, he was the second child of Bernard and Mary Kiernan, nee Bradley. After attending Power Memorial High School, he was drafted into the US Army at 22 in 1950 and proudly served the United States in the Korean War, becoming a decorated veteran as part of a heavy mortar company. He safely returned home in 1952 to New York City before moving to Fort Lee, NJ.
After a series of banking, sales, and construction jobs, he settled into a law enforcement career working as a Deputy Sheriff’s Officer for Bergen County in 1967. After his father passed away unexpectedly in 1973, he remained at home caring for his mother for another decade before she passed away in 1984. Bernard retired in 1990 after spending 23+ years overseeing prisoners and coordinating records in the Bergen County Jail Annex in Hackensack. He was very active at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, being a regular choir member, usher, and 3rd Degree Knights of Columbus member. Bernard also was an avid Yankees and Ranger fan.
Bernard was a strong advocate in the Bergen County “Right To Life” movement. For decades, he participated in prayer vigils, letter writing campaigns, right up until the month he passed, and several annual Right to Life Marchs in Washington, DC. He was one of the most generous individuals around, sending the majority of his retirement income to numerous charitable causes because “they needed it more” than him. He was the current Kiernan Family Patriarch among four surviving siblings (Mary Younghans, Theresa Monahan, Catherine Stackpole, and Ann Sutter) and known affectionately as “Uncle Boo” to all his 24 nephews and nieces at any family gathering. He is predeceased by his parents and brothers Pat and Eddie.
Bernard was one of the most gregarious people you would ever meet and always willing to sacrifice for others, even a stranger as reflected in his law enforcement career choice. Even the inmates at the jail liked “Officer Barney” because he treated each one of them with respect. He will be dearly missed, but remembered forever, by all whose lives he touched.
There will be a private Catholic Mass for family members only at Church of the Assumption, Emerson, NJ with internment to follow at the Northern NJ Veterans Memorial cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his memory to his most cherished cause: Bergen County Right To Life, PO Box 653, Oradell, NJ (201) 262-1953, [email protected]
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