Gordon Preston Bernard

3 years ago cable12

Gordon Preston Bernard of Boon-Bernard Drive in Boones Mill passed away suddenly on his 70th birthday.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Jeanne and John Bernard and is survived by his loving and devoted wife Hazel Diane Bernard of Boones Mill and son Preston and partner Michelle of Waycross, Georgia.

Gordon loved the sea and his home on the family farm. He was a voracious reader of science fiction, was computer savvy, and loved listening to eclectic music.  He graduated from Franklin County High School, attended Old Dominion University in oceanography, and received his degree in marine technology from Cape Fear Technical Institute in Wilmington, NC.

After graduation, Gordon worked ten years for Teledyne in Houston, Texas as a party chief on an oil exploration ship in the Gulf of Mexico where he helped map the ocean floor for potential drilling sights. After returning home to Boones Mill, he worked for Orvis where he met Diane and retired from Allstate Insurance as a senior computer support technician.

Gordon is also survived by his brother Steve Bernard and wife Anne, sister Carolyn Hornick and husband Eddie, brother Philip Bernard and partner Tom Grey, nephew John Hornick and wife Alexa, niece Rebecca Hornick and partner Ben, stepson Chris Tolley and stepdaughter Renee Martone, and step-grandson’s Logan and Ethan Tolley, and step-great-granddaughter Harper Tolley.

Gordon will be remembered most as a loving husband, father, brother and a selfless and gentle soul with a wonderful sense of humor. His family will miss him dearly.

Funeral service will be held Wednesday, July 7, at 11am at Boones Mill Christian Church, 7950 Grassy Hill Road in Boones Mill, with inurnment to follow in the church columbarium with Rev. Elaine Austin officiating.  There will be no visitation prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Bernard Healthcare Center at 1171 Franklin St, Rocky Mount, VA 24151. Arrangements by Flora Funeral Service and Cremation Center, Rocky Mount.