Bern Kreissman died peacefully in his daughter’s arms, June 5. He was born June 17, 1919, to Sonia and Nathan Kreissman in New York City. Nathan died when Bern was very young, leaving Bern and his three brother Jules, George and David to be raised by Sonia. Sonia worked hard, and struggled, undiagnosed, with Addison’s disease for many years.
The public library was Bern’s salvation. He joined long lines of children waiting for the library to open, was looked after by the wonderful librarian there, and brought home armfuls of books every week. As a teenager, Bern took any job to help him and his mother survive. This no doubt played a role in his continuous admonishment to work hard, and save money.
Bern went to evening school at City College New York as a practical solution for all the jobs he held. He met Shirley in a hiking club there. Shirley was sure he was as enamored of her grilled cheese sandwiches as he was of her. They married on August 29, 1942, and shared a love of the outdoors, liberal politics and intellectual curiosity.
With the Depression in full force, Bern took a civil service job, which turned out to be secret radar training.
At age 24, he went to war. Although he could have gotten a deferment as the sole support for his mother, Dad was highly patriotic (“stupidly patriotic”). He felt joining was the right thing to do when his number came up.
Shirley and Bern went to South Carolina where they experienced anti Semitism and anti-north sentiments. It was still a time of segregation. An old stripped-out trailer was used to show movies, and blacks sat at the back. Mom and Dad hated it, but could do nothing about it.
Shirley followed Bern as he moved from South Carolina; Macon, Georgia; Chicago; Salina, Kansas; Fresno, California, Washington D.C.- back and forth across the country. Finally, in Seattle, Bern embarked on the infamous ‘Kota Baru,” a 40-year-old sailing vessel and in such bad shape it had been taken out of coastal service.
On the 30th day out, they landed in Hawaii. No one was let off the boat, for fear of mass desertion, except for two sergeants. These two took orders from everyone for pineapple – 18 ways! Dad and his best friend, Everett Nice, pooled their money and filled a duffle bag with pineapples, which they hid under Dad’s lower bunk. After this, every night they would go up on deck and share one can of pineapple juice under the moon.
They disembarked on Guam where they built shelters, latrines, barracks, shower room, a rec hall and an air strip. It was here that Bern said “I want one big room” in order to make a little library. With the help of some “nice Red Cross ladies,” he was able to get books, and set up a system for checking them out to fellow soldiers.
When the G.I. Bill was proposed, Dad was so “stupidly patriotic” he
didn’t want it. “It was the right thing to do and we shouldn’t be paid for what we did.”. Nevertheless, the G.I. Bill paid for Dad to go to library school at Columbia, beginning a career which became a cornerstone of his life.
Bern and Shirley lived in “Shanks Village,” an army barracks converted to student housing in New Jersey. After receiving his Master’s Degree in library science, the now family of five moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1954 in their first car, a green Dodge station wagon. Lincoln was a stimulating home for them: their first house, a beautiful neighborhood, wonderful schools, brilliant, artistic colleagues and friends. All of them thrived there.
Offered the position of Director of Libraries at City College, the family left Lincoln to return to New York, and moved to Tarrytown, New York.
Following their daughters’ moves to California, Bern and Shirley moved to Davis, where Dad took the position of Head Librarian for UC Davis. They loved the town of Davis: the tree lined streets, the parks, the Farmer’s Market and the beautifully dressed toddlers there, the excellent library, the Senior Center, the children on bikes and trikes, and their own beloved home where they would entertain family and friends around the pool in the back yard.
Once retired, Bern turned to his great loves: the outdoors and the world of words. He authored half a dozen books on the outdoors, as well as “Solving Crosswords,” taught classes on snowshoeing, crossword puzzles and literature, particularly “Moby Dick.” Bern was very active in the local Sierra Club chapter, and provided leadership and energy for all the group’s activities. Shirley and Bern traveled in their VW Vanagon, loving wilderness and enjoying the freedom they had.
Bern is survived by his loved daughter Jude Kreissman of Sebastopol (m. David Bacigalupi); beloved grandchildren Giovanna Rossetti, Sonya Dolan (m. Hugh Carroll), and Doran Bacigalupi; and great grandchildren, Cade and Breagan.
Going before him were his loved children Starrett and Gregory, his wife Shirley, as well as his brothers George, David and Jules.
The family thanks all of his loving caregivers and friends who helped and took such good care of him over the years.
A day to remember Bern is being planned. Please email Jude at ju**@so***.net, if you would like information about it.
