Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Saturday, August 29, 2026 after a brief but courageous fight against cancer.
Loving husband of Judith Duda (nee Doll) of 64 years. Beloved father of Stephen (Dawn) Duda, Theresa (William) Leingang, Gregory (Stacie) Zink-Duda, and Paul (Shannon Powell) Duda. Cherished grandfather of Brianna (Vishnu Potuganam) Duda, Meaghan Duda, Elizabeth (Patrick) Harty, Catherine (Lucas) Whitehead, William (Alyssa) Leingang, and Andrew (Kimberly) Leingang, Joshua Zink-Duda, Josephine Zink-Duda, Anastasia Zink-Duda, Lia Zink-Duda, Abigail Duda, and Joel Duda. Great-grandfather of Stella, Eve, Simon, Peter, Carlo, and Ambrose. Our dear brother, brother-in-law, step-grandfather, uncle, cousin, and friend.
Bernie lived a full life, beginning with a childhood in the Bevo area of south St. Louis. He was one of 5 kids, with two older sisters and two younger brothers. He fondly recalls visiting the Duda farm in House Springs every other Sunday, playing in the creek while looking for minnows and crawfish. His childhood was influenced by the lingering effects of the Great Depression, with coal heat and milk delivery by horse, and later the U.S. entry into World War II. He recalled how during this time most home products were saved and collected at scrap metal drives, paper drives, and rubber drives, and cooking grease was saved for use in making ammunition. Bernie and his siblings enjoyed making jigsaw puzzles, riding bikes, and riding the streetcar to St. Louis Browns baseball games at Sportsman’s Park.
His education began at St. John the Baptist, where he attended through high school, then St. Louis University (in the former Institute of Technology) where he studied Civil Engineering, participated in ROTC, and graduated in 1957.
In October 1957 Bernie reported to active duty as an officer in the US Air Force, where he was first sent to civil engineering school at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, then assigned to Ellsworth in Rapid City, SD in December 1957. During this time in South Dakota, he discovered his love of the Black Hills and Badlands. He was then transferred to Goose Bay, Labrador in 1958, where he was assigned extra duty as the base snow removal officer, not a small task in a place with average snowfall of 180 inches each winter. He was discharged from active duty in January 1961, then was given an honorable discharge from the US Air Force reserves in August 1967.
After the Air Force, Bernie worked for the Missouri Highway Department until 1963, when he went to work for JE Latta, during which time he earned his Professional Engineering license. He moved to Gamble Construction in 1965, where he was project engineer on the construction of MSD’s Lemay Pump Station. Three of his children were born while working on the project, which his co-workers kidded him had to be some sort of a record. In March 1973 he left to work for Bannes-Shaughnessy, now BSI Constructors. Starting as a project engineer, he was soon moved to the front office as a project estimator. In March of 1978 he was promoted to Vice President for Engineering and Estimating. He retired at the end of 1998, leaving his mark on countless buildings and coworkers in the St. Louis area.
Bernie met the woman who would become his life’s partner, Judy Doll, on December 26, 1960 at a young adult club Christmas Party. Their first date was a New Year’s Eve party a few days later. Bernie and Judy were married in March of 1962. Four children later, life became filled with sports games, music lessons, recitals, science fairs, scouts, carpools, and family parties.
Family vacations were a magical highlight of family life. Road trips by car were essential, and vacations were generally required to include orange juice and donuts for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car for lunch, lots of road maps, and keeping track of gas at each gas station stop. One of the favorite spots was South Dakota, a place he returned to multiple times.
Bernie was a trusted volunteer, especially at his home parish of St. Martin of Tours, where he held positions including the parish council, finance committee, building and grounds committee, archdiocesan fund drive chair, president of the Holy Name Society, one of the first extraordinary ministers, a collection counter, and parish hall renovation designer – no matter the issue, he became the one to ask when the parish needed something done. During those years he began his streak of making an annual retreat at the Jesuit White House retreat center, a string that lasted 50 years. At his most recent parish of St Margaret Mary Alacoque, he was an RCIA sponsor. One of his volunteer highlights was serving on the transportation committee for Pope John Paul II’s visit to St. Louis in 1999.
Bernie and Judy built two new houses, living in each for over 30 years. No home improvement project was too large for Bernie, tackling projects as big as a family room addition, a kitchen remodel, and finishing two basements. After the four kids completed their schooling and got married, life transitioned to being a grandpa. Twelve grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren kept “Grandpa”, “PopPop”, or “The Great One” busy with activities.
Bernie’s other hobbies included genealogy, gardening, small woodworking, and puzzle making in retirement. He traced his family ancestry back to 1644, a task that was so extensive as to involve correspondence with the mayor of Sveradice, Czechia. In 2004 Bernie and Judy traveled to the Czech Republic and visited the ancestral home where his grandparents were born and lived. The entire town turned out to warmly welcome the travelers from the U.S.
Visitation at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (Ringer Road) on Thursday, September 3rd from 9:30am until Mass at 11am. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Donations to Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Archdiocesan Council of St. Louis are appreciated.