Tuesday
December 24th, 2024
1:18PM
Bernard Gaston Gosselin was born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, on January 6, 1932, to Wilfred Rudolph Gosselin and Lydia Marie St. Laurent. He was the youngest of five children. His older siblings were Gaby, Rachel, Marcel, and Norman.
Bernie enlisted in the Navy in 1951 at 18 and served honorably for four years during the Korean conflict as a dental technician on board the USS Rockbridge. He often said in the last few years that those four years were the best of his unmarried life.
He married the love of his life, Mida Faye Boston, on April 15, 1955, a marriage that lasted 55 years. Their only child, Kathlene, was born the next year. They moved to Chicago where he earned an associate degree in electrical engineering from DeVry Technical Institute through the GI Bill, while working full time as a night janitor at a church and taking courses full time during the day.
As an engineer at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Bernie led a testing lab as a part of NASA’s Gemini space program. He went on to work for Marsland Associates, a manufacturer’s representative in the Chicago area selling electronic equipment to businesses and universities, serving as president of the company from the late 1960s until he retired in 2000. He and Mida moved to Gainesville in 2003 to be near family.
The handiest of handymen, Bernie was photogenic, fashion wise — his father owned a men’s clothing store — and generous with his time, talents and possessions. Bernie was a good cook but also loved to go to restaurants, as much to meet new people as for the food. He had a way of meeting people and asking questions to get to know them, their lives, and whatever their vocation might be. He had strong opinions and voiced them, as well as a soft heart for those in need.
Known to his grandchildren as Pacha, he loved his family fiercely and was proud of his grandchildren and delighted with his great-grandchildren. He passed on to his daughter and grandchildren a love of music, especially jazz, and most especially the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Bernie is survived by his daughter Kathy Gosselin of Gainesville; his grandchildren Kenneth Fockele and his wife Callan of Seattle, Alice Fockele and her wife Winnie Chao of Portland, Oregon, Michael Galardi and his wife Eva of Athens, Katherine Galardi of Atlanta; his great-grandchildren Wren and Baxter Fockele and Ethan Galardi; and his nephews Rod and Giles Cartier of Florida.
A memorial service will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home, Riverside Chapel, 989 Riverside Dr., Gainesville, GA 30501, at 2 p.m., on Monday, Dec. 30. For those who wish, donations may be made to Gateway Domestic Violence Center, P.O. Box 2962, Gainesville, GA 30503.
Memorial Park Riverside Chapel 989 Riverside Drive Gainesville, Georgia is in charge of arrangements
For online condolences www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com .
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