Bernard "Bernie" Resnick, 79, of Derry, NH passed away peacefully on Monday, June 22, 2009. Born in Portland, ME on March 16, 1930 he was the son of the late Philip and Diana (Schwey) Resnick. Bernie was educated in Portland, ME and graduated Boston University with a degree in business. He started his career with the Resnick Oil family company in Portland, ME, keeping a passion for this industry throughout his life recertifying for his master oil burner technician license at the age of 70. In 1967, Bernie began his career with Nelson & Small in Portland, ME. In 1971, Bernie and his family moved to Derry, NH and became Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nelson & Small in Manchester, NH. After retiring from Senior Vice President / General Manager he continued his relationship with Nelson & Small and became actively involved in real estate management and the design and development of commercial laundries.
Bernie is a founding and current member of the Derry Village Rotary Club and has served as Past President. He also served as Chairman of the Alan Shepard Committee, Past President of the Derry Economic & Development Corporation, Past Chairman of the Derry Cable Television, and is credited with the driving force behind the effort to turn an old public school house into the Marion Gerrish Community Center. In the year 2000, he was a recipient of the Vaughan Award, presented by the then Governor Jeanne Sheehan, as a top Volunteer for the State of NH.
He has been a member of the Miss America Program for fifty-one continuous years. He directed the Miss Maine Pageant for fifteen years, the Miss New Hampshire and Miss Vermont Pageants for two years. In addition, he directed the Miss Massachusetts Pageant through their first New England-wide television broadcast. Bernie has directed and produced several pageant specials for television. He has served on the production committee of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and has judged seventeen state pageants throughout the country. His summer stock experience includes three seasons here in New Hampshire with the Barnstormers of the Tamworth, NH Summer Theatre.
His colorful past also includes serving in the Korean War and fighting in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea in 1950. He entered the Army in 1949 ending his service as a Master Sergeant in 1951. He is NH's representative of the Chosin Few; the group of survivors of that battle. When serving in Korea, he was part of the 44th Engineer Battalion aka "Broken Heart". The 44th Engineer Battalion Association was formed in 1989 and he has served as past President and is current Treasurer of the 44th Engineer Battalion Association. Bernie was a long time member of the Derry Veterans Memorial Committee. He has helped plan and raise funds for several War Memorials in Derry, with the most recent being a memorial for the Afghanistan and Iraq War which was dedicated a year ago. He was honored to be a part of the planning and fund raising for the Korean War National Museum in Springfield, IL. One of his greatest thrills was traveling each year to different military bases throughout the country meeting and discussing the Korean War with active military personnel.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara (Ballentine) Resnick of Derry; two daughters Jan Carelli and her husband Stephen of Londonderry, NH, and Kari Taylor and her husband George of Murrieta, CA; two grandchildren, Diana Taylor and Zachary Taylor; as well as his sister, Thelma Shenkman of Granby, CT. He was predeceased by his daughter Lisa O'Neill in 2005 and his sister Anne Glassman.
A calling hour was held on Thursday, June 25th from 2 - 3:00pm in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 290 Mammoth Rd., Londonderry, with a service that followed at 3:00pm in the funeral home. Private burial will be in the NH State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, NH. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Assoc., NH Affiliate, PO Box 31160, Hartford, CT 06150-1160 or to the American Heart Assoc., Northeast Affiliate, 2 Wall St., Manchester, NH 03101.