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Obituary (VA): Francis William Bernier '52

Posted on 05/28/2019

FRANCIS WILLIAM BERNIER, Colonel USAF (Retired), passed away on December 18, 2018 in Alexandria, VA. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Eleanor; his son Robert Bruce, and grandson Aiden. A daughter, Suzanne, died in 2017, and is survived by her daughter Marygrace, his granddaughter.

Born in Northampton, MA, Frank joined the Navy in 1945 and was assigned to Tientsin, China. While serving in China, he received a fleet appointment to the US Naval Academy. Upon his graduation in 1952, Frank was commissioned in the US Air Force and served as a navigator and ECM officer. In 1965 he received a master’s degree in R&D Management from the University of Chicago. Frank spent a year in Thailand, and his final assignment was in Intelligence in the Pentagon. In 1973 he participated in Operation Homecoming in Texas interviewing the returning POWs from Vietnam.

Col. Bernier retired in 1978 and worked for Eaton and General Electric, before joining PESystems where he worked for over 19 years, finally retiring in 2015. Colonel Bernier will be buried on May 29 in Arlington National Cemetery.

Published in The Washington Post on May 26, 2019