John "Tiger" Bernhardt - RIP 2/8/2013

[Bill_McBride]

It's time to cure and eradicate cancer. I don't know the nature of John's cancer but so many cancers can be reduced or eliminated through lifestyle changes, screening, and prevention. Other cancers have the same potential through continued research. Do what you can to support cancer research and cancer screening. Early detection through screening is critical to treating many forms of cancer.

Sadly this was John's third go round with throat cancer.  He was a hell of a fighter but the third time was too much. 

[jeffwarne]

A sad day for GCA.
My thoughts are with his family.

I never met John face to face, but we shared many pm's,most involving LSU football.
He was always a real gentleman, and certainly had a passion for great golf.

I only knew one other person from Monroe, the late Johnny Myers, Head Pro at Muni GC, who was a real class act as well.
Must be something about the upbringing down there

[David Harshbarger]

Never met you, John, but I wish that you Rest In Peace.

[Patrick_Mucci]

I would suggest, in Tiger's memory, that a donation to cancer research or to the American Cancer Society, in memory of Tiger would be a fitting gesture and tribute.

[Steve Lang]

    Very Sad News, my condolences to John's family and daughter who cared for him...

Though I only have a weekend's memories with John, when he rode with the 30th Parallel Gang at Whispering Pines and Blaketree, it was memorable... right down to his exit, tearing out of Blaketree in his Jag, in a cloud of dust, throwing stones, yelling Geaux Tigers..



At Whisperinmg Pines.. always in the center of the action.. with Mike Nuzzo, John Kendall (aka TXSport) & Lou Duran to left, Andy Hodson (the non-repentant Longhorn who bet with Tiger about a certain Nat Championship game), and myself to right.
 
Geaux Tiger indeed..  your spirit lives on!

[jim_lewis]

I am sitting here with tears running down my face. We have lost one of the really good guys. Katie, you are the greatest.
Jim Lewis

[Paul Jones]

The family requests that visitation be observed in Martin & Castille's DOWNTOWN Lafayette location on Monday, February 11, 2013 from 11:00 AM until the time of service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to LSU TAF, P. O. Box 711, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, Attn: John Bernhardt Memorial Golf Fund.

[Yancey_Beamer]

Best Memory,
Playing Pacific Dunes with Tiger.
What skill.
We'll all miss you.
Sorry Katie.
Yancey Beamer

[Kevin_Reilly]

John was a member of the winning team from the Olympic Club in the inaugural Carr Mara Tournament at Portmarnock in 2007.  The tournament will be hosted by Olympic later this year...I am sure that Tiger will be remembered at the event.  John of course is the happy guy on the left.

[Gib_Papazian]

One thing about Brother John, he didn't leave any chips on the table. I cannot speak for him, but as a guy who saw it all - and did it all twice over - his biggest regret has to be leaving Katie behind. She is a terrific kid and in the spirit if those who loved Tiger, we all have to look out for each other.

My advice - and not to be maudlin as the last 8 days has taken three people in my life away to f*cking cancer - is not to forget that bullshit about golf design is nothing more than an intellectual exercise that has meaning here, only because we know the difference between pretty good and legitimately great. Neither answer brings back those who have passed away.

Call up or email somebody you love and/or admire and tell them. Right now! If nothing else, to honor John's memory. I just did - to a man on this board so outstanding and admirable in thought word and deed that I cry just thinking that one day we may lose him.

Sorry boys, it has been a bad week.
  

[Howard Riefs]

From the CaringBridge site (http://m.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbernhardt/journal/entry/id/14738131/page/1/num/1):

Written 57 minutes ago by Katherine Bernhardt
I am very sorry to say that after a long and courageous battle with cancer my Dad passed away yesterday morning around 10:15 am.  As you all know he was a loving and devoted father, as well as an honorable man. I lack the words to articulate exactly how much I will miss his wisdom and his laughter, as I know you will also.
 
Services will be held at Martin and Castile Funeral Home at 330 St. Landry St. in Lafayette, LA. Visitation will begin at 11am and the service will be at 1pm on Monday.  The burial will be at Old City Cemetery in Monroe, LA. I am awaiting conformation from the City of Monroe but my hope is to have a graveside memorial on Tuesday with a reception to follow at my Mom, Janet Bernhardt’s home. I will post final burial arrangements Monday after speaking with the City of Monroe.
 
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to LSU TAF, P. O. Box 711, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, Attn: John Bernhardt Memorial Golf Fund.

[Brock Peyer]

John Bernhardt  R.I.P.

 

Our good friend John Bernhardt died this morning the 8th of February, 2013, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

 

Here is a message from his daughter Katie,  which does not give the full measure of the man. In my long years on this earth I have seen courage manifested in various forms but I think that John exhibited a will to live through years of unmanageable pain and trauma. There is much more I could say but will leave you with remembrances of things past from the true love of his life, his daughter, Katie Bernhardt.

 

 

Raised in Monroe, LA. He was a proud graduate of Neville High School, also known as the Tigers.
He started playing golf as a boy. He would play baseball in the summer and still find a way to play golf each day. His first hole in one was in Monroe. He wore a green shirt that day,  green has been his favorite color since. Although left- handed, his first set of clubs were ladies right handed clubs and so he became a right handed golfer. In the last two years he took up putting left handed.

LSU football, and LSU athletics in general were a passion of his. The day his football season tickets came in the mail each year was a day he beamed with joy. Tailgating was one of his favorite things to do before a game. He never set up his own; he liked to spend the entire day walking the campus going from tent to tent talking to friends. He liked getting to our seats an hour early to watch the team warm up.

He loved football in general. He was terribly bored not working and stuck at home so the last football season he had 14 fantasy football teams.

He loves talking about who LSU was recruiting and watching the team come together each year. He loves the Tiger band as well.

Although he was an attorney, he seldom practiced law. His primary business was his small oil and gas exploration company. He loved his work- putting ventures together and hunting for future prospects.

For about 30 years, beginning with his first trip to Pebble Beach, he dreamed of becoming part of the community and somehow retiring there. That seemed a little far fetched for a Monroe boy. He has started a company named Monterey Land Investments- with the goal being to use it to retire on Monterey Peninsula. Although the last few years were not at all what he had in mind, the dream did come true in a sense. He joined MPCC and bought a place in pebble beach.

He loved the time he spent on the west coast. Particularly the friendships he formed through his love of golf. My Dad loved playing at the Olympic Club but enjoyed the company after the rounds as much as the course.

My Dad loved yet sometimes despised politics. He always stayed involved to some degree in the background in Louisiana politics. In 2008 he was a delegate to the democratic national convention. He explained to me that it was part of adhering to his values. Being a democrat with a concern for the environment in the oil business in Louisiana certainly put him in a small club but one he was proud of. He once has an environmental consulting company. He loved having different projects at once. He said it was how he made use of his ADD.

This is Mardi Gras season which is something my father has always enjoyed. His favorite Mardi Gras festivity was being a member of the Mystic Krew of Louisianians, which everyone refers to as Washington Mardi Gras. It is a Mardi Gras krew that is driven by state politics and is great celebration of Louisiana culture and politic in Washington DC.

He was also a member in several New Orleans krews and enjoyed riding in the parades and attending a week or two of luncheons, parties, balls and generally having fun.

He loved to travel and wanted see much more of the world. He traveled to Paris almost every other year and the city had an impact on him that I struggle to articulate.

His perseverance was endless. He missed eating and drinking so much that he did painful rehabilitation exercises each day to learn to eat again.  He did this rather successfully twice. The last year has proven to be a real obstacle in that area. He did miss food so much that he refused to quit trying. He would never complain about how painful it was but it was agonizing just to watch. He would choke catch his breath and try again. His determination was endless.

His charm, wit and sense of humor made a lasting impression on everyone. Laughter was simply part of everything, truly a jovial man. He also never stopped going, like an energizer bunny. He would drive and fly to3 states for business in a week then say "wanna run down to Florida  for the weekend." He could make things  happen by having endless energy and determination.

He liked going to both coasts, the mountains and desert at least once each year.

He took me everywhere. If there was a fundraiser for a politician, fantasy football draft, golf, cocktail parties, if he went on the nights I stayed with him, I went too. We threw the nerf football every evening before going out to dinner, yes every evening we did eat out. He was not much of a cook.

I recently was told, and reminded by an old friend, that every morning he would go to the circle K convenience store, pick up his news paper, little Debbie or bear claw and a coke. Then he would park across from the girl’s dorm and have breakfast and read the paper while they walked to school. He had me to Wednesday and Friday mornings and would drop me off at school before his breakfast stop.

He took me on a 2-3 week vacation each summer. He loved our national parks. He loved going to Olmstead point in Yosemite because of the connection to golf architecture.

Every New Year's Day he liked to start the year off by hitting a few balls. This often required sneaking around a few fences. I enjoyed doing that with him.


Katie

Very sweet words from Katie.  He will be missed.

[Anthony Butler]

From the CaringBridge site (http://m.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbernhardt/journal/entry/id/14738131/page/1/num/1):

Written 57 minutes ago by Katherine Bernhardt
I am very sorry to say that after a long and courageous battle with cancer my Dad passed away yesterday morning around 10:15 am.  As you all know he was a loving and devoted father, as well as an honorable man. I lack the words to articulate exactly how much I will miss his wisdom and his laughter, as I know you will also.
 
Services will be held at Martin and Castile Funeral Home at 330 St. Landry St. in Lafayette, LA. Visitation will begin at 11am and the service will be at 1pm on Monday.  The burial will be at Old City Cemetery in Monroe, LA. I am awaiting conformation from the City of Monroe but my hope is to have a graveside memorial on Tuesday with a reception to follow at my Mom, Janet Bernhardt’s home. I will post final burial arrangements Monday after speaking with the City of Monroe.
 
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to LSU TAF, P. O. Box 711, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, Attn: John Bernhardt Memorial Golf Fund.

Spent a bit of time on the Caring Bridge site recently, due to a work colleague and family friend dealing with the same types of things as Tiger.. I read some of his 16+ pages of posts... If you want a testimony to what Tiger thought about, cared about... you should go read the posts... caringbridge.org  Search: johnbernhardt. You may need to join first.

Amazed by the courage and self awareness of these people, all of whom are staring into the abyss so as to speak... while you get the sense there's plenty of long dark nights... it's remarkable the lack of self-pity their posts exhibit.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Gib,

I have friends currently battling cancer.

What most don't realize is the terrible toll cancer takes on the patient's family.

Those family members are relegated to being spectators, helpless to combat and cure the cancer.
They can only watch and see the day to day deterioration, the terrible effects caused by the cancer, the radiation and the chemotherapy.
It's an enormous strain on a family, especially a family with young children who see, but don't understand what's happening to their mother or father.

It's an agonizing experience, the unkindest, most brutal form of erosion, one made worse when the outcome is the demise of the patient.

Last night my wife and I invited our neighbor from across the street to join us for a family dinner
My grandson was also with us.
This neighbor is a wonderful and kind man who lost his 7 year old son to a rare form of cancer and then, shortly thereafter, lost his wife to breast cancer.  We talked about the strides being made in early detection, new drugs and treatment protocols that are producing favorable outcomes.
We also discussed the reduction in government funding and the need for contributions from the private sector.

We can no longer help Tiger, but we can help Katie with kind words about her dad and by making a charitable contribution in Tiger's name to his favorite charity or to cancer research in Tiger's name.

Men are judged by their deeds, not their words.

[Jeff_Stettner]

I will miss you, John. Condolences to all those who knew this great man.

[Michael George]

One thing about Brother John, he didn't leave any chips on the table. I cannot speak for him, but as a guy who saw it all - and did it all twice over - his biggest regret has to be leaving Katie behind. She is a terrific kid and in the spirit if those who loved Tiger, we all have to look out for each other.

My advice - and not to be maudlin as the last 8 days has taken three people in my life away to f*cking cancer - is not to forget that bullshit about golf design is nothing more than an intellectual exercise that has meaning here, only because we know the difference between pretty good and legitimately great. Neither answer brings back those who have passed away.

Call up or email somebody you love and/or admire and tell them. Right now! If nothing else, to honor John's memory. I just did - to a man on this board so outstanding and admirable in thought word and deed that I cry just thinking that one day we may lose him.

Sorry boys, it has been a bad week.
  

Gib:

Sorry to hear about your tough week.

Your post is entirely appropriate and appreciated.   I feel the exact same about this site.  I love this site and the discussion on it.  But, it is just hobby for most of us and none of us should have any patience for people that make things personal in a negative manner.  Honestly, how many of Tiger's friends on this string give a crap about his thoughts on golf course design at this time.  They are remembering the great times they had together and the man himself and his daughter.  While I did not know Tiger personally, strings like this really illustrate how special this website is due to the friendships that it has fostered, more than any knowledge gained of golf course design.

[Howard Riefs]

Via Katie on the CaringBridge site:

The funeral service for Dad was beautiful. Thank you to those who were able to attend for making it so memorable. The burial will be held at 1:00pm Wednesday at Old City Cemetery in Monroe. A reception will follow at my Mom's House. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. They remain a source of strength for me.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbernhardt/journal

[Paul Jones]

It was a very nice service, his friends told funny stories and admired what a great dad he was along with raising an even greater daughter. The theme for funeral were his 3 favorite things: Katie, Golf and LSU.

Bill McBride did a reading and Gib Papazian and Bob Huntley were Honorary Pallbearers.  I wore my LSU tie and took Bill and Kathleen to eat gumbo at Oakbourne after the funeral in honor of John.

Katie had everyone write there favorite moment with her Dad in a book.  I will make sure that she gets all the special comments and stories on this page to add to her book.

[RJ_Daley]

Thank you all gentlemen for representing our golf community at John's service.  What wonderful friends of John you are, as well.

[Jay Flemma]

I'm sorry I missed this news last week.  My condolences to his friends and family.  Tiger was a great guy, and a terrific voice for GCA.

[Patrick_Mucci]

It's time to cure and eradicate cancer. I don't know the nature of John's cancer but so many cancers can be reduced or eliminated through lifestyle changes, screening, and prevention.

Other cancers have the same potential through continued research.
Do what you can to support cancer research and cancer screening.
 Early detection through screening is critical to treating many forms of cancer.

Bill,

Most of what you say is true, but a great many cancers are familial.
Sometimes, our grandparents cast the die for us.

The research, going down to the genetic and molecular level, is making great strides, and needs our continued support.

[Sam Morrow]

It was a very nice service, his friends told funny stories and admired what a great dad he was along with raising an even greater daughter. The theme for funeral were his 3 favorite things: Katie, Golf and LSU.

Bill McBride did a reading and Gib Papazian and Bob Huntley were Honorary Pallbearers.  I wore my LSU tie and took Bill and Kathleen to eat gumbo at Oakbourne after the funeral in honor of John.

Katie had everyone write there favorite moment with her Dad in a book.  I will make sure that she gets all the special comments and stories on this page to add to her book.

John raved about that gumbo.