Mr. Bernard L. Pollack

Bernard "Bernie" Leonard Pollack, 94, of Oceanside, California, passed away on Monday, July 14, 2014 at home in his sleep. Born on January 18, 1920 in Detroit, Michigan to John and Ida Pollack, Bernie grew up the oldest of three younger siblings: Lane, Alvin, and Miriam. In 1933, John Pollack passed away, and it fell to Bernie to help Ida with the care of the younger children. In 1935, the family moved to Tarentum, PA, where Bernie graduated from high school in 1938, excelling on both the soccer pitch and in the chemistry classroom. After high school, Bernie attended the Penn State School of Forestry in Mont Alto, PA. There, he walked-on the soccer team as an outside forward, drawing the coach's attention after once kicking a stray ball back onto the practice field. In 1940, Bernie enrolled in a government course on the inspection of war materials. Two years later, Bernie and his brother Lane were drafted into the US Army to train ordinance personnel in small arm and military mechanics, first in Aberdeen, Maryland and later at a training center in Jackson, Mississippi. On Christmas Day, 1942, Bernie's company left for overseas deployment from New York Harbor on the SS Cristobal, a boat that prior to the war effort hauled bananas between Panama and New York. It was a rough winter on the mid-Atlantic, and throughout the entire trip to England Bernie never once made it "top-side" of the SS Cristobal. In England, Bernie was stationed at Camp G25, repairing broken armor. In 1945, his company was sent to the Philippines by way of the Panama Canal, where in Manila, around the same time the bomb was dropped, Bernie was responsible for accepting all war materials coming back from the Pacific front. Finally, along with 20,000 other soldiers, Bernie boarded the USS Constitution and headed home, once more by way of the Panama Canal. In total, Bernie spent 152 days on the water. Once home, Bernie finished his degree in horticulture at Penn State. One afternoon in Happy Valley, Bernie helped a young lady by the name of Sonia Blostein, a fellow Nittany Lion, find her way home via the town's bus system. The two began dating and were married in 1949. Upon graduation from Penn State, the university offered Bernie an assistantship in plant genetics, which Bernie accepted, earning his PhD in horticulture with a major in plant genetics and a minor in biometry four years later. His first child, John, was born in 1951, followed by Abbie in 1954. In 1960, Bernie finished as an instructor at Penn State and moved his family to East Brunswick, New Jersey. At his new job in the Rutgers department of horticulture, Bernie conducted vegetable breeding and research. Often times Pollack family dinners would be supplemented by the various strains of fresh vegetables that Bernie was breeding at the time. Although his work as a plant geneticist was extensive, covering multiple species, Bernie is perhaps most renown for his development of the famous Ramapo tomato. In the 1960s, the fresh market growers of New Jersey needed a tomato with quality, disease and crack resistance, and durability. By creating a hybrid between two varietals: the Abbie tomato (named after his daughter) and the KCA (a tomato used by Campbell's), Bernie managed to develop exactly what the Jersey growers were looking for in the Ramapo. Bernie suffered his first heart attack in 1961, and his second four years later. While recuperating in 1965, Bernie, drawing on his days as a World War II machinist, took up clock repair, cultivating a love for all things that ticked and tocked. Bernie remained a clock enthusiast throughout the remainder of his life. Over the next decade, Bernie traveled to Africa nineteen times while working with the Peace Corp, primarily training volunteers in vegetable production. Twice in Africa, Bernie found himself in the middle of a coup d'etat, once in Niger and once in Upper Volta (Brukina Faso), forcing him to flee the African revolts in order to return safely to the United States. In 1985 the Pollacks retired to Southern California, where Bernie always kept a lush garden full of fruits and vegetables, and continued to work on his clocks. Bernie is survived by his brother Alvin, sister Miriam, wife Sonia, children John (Karen) Pollack and Abbie (John) Morrison, and grandchildren Kelsey and Alex Morrison. The family suggests that donations be made in Bernie's name to the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Academic Excellence Fund, (732) 839-2006. . As for me, Bernie's grandson, every time I hear a clock tick, or smell the earthy aroma of a freshly cut tomato, I am reminded of my grandfather and all that he taught me about leading a full and compassionate life.

Mr. Bernard L. Pollack

January 18, 1920 - July 14, 2014