Obituary

At an early age, the family moved to the State Line area, north of Marysville, in Marshall County, where he attended country school and graduated from Marysville High School in 1951. As the first one in his family to attend college, he attended Kansas State University, where he was a member of Beta Sigma Psi social fraternity and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Bernie received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University in 1958 and was employed as a civil engineer by the U.S. Army and the Army Corps of Engineers.

On Aug. 11, 1956, Bernard was united in marriage to Ellen Lehman at the Presbyterian Church in Halstead. They shared more than 65 years of marriage.

Bernie began his career in 1958, as an engineer in training with the Corps on the Tuttle Creek Dam in Manhattan, Kansas. In the spring of 1959, he was assigned to the Engineering Division of the Kansas City District in Kansas City, Missouri, for various assignments in the design function. In June of 1960, he was permanently assigned to the Construction Branch of the district, performing construction management and quality assurance oversight on civil and military contracts within Missouri and Kansas. Besides contracts at military bases, the district also did the construction and management of the Atlas E and F missile bases in Missouri and Kansas.

In 1964, he transferred to the Mobile, Alabama, District and worked as a negotiator on design and construction changes to contracts on the NASA Test Facility near Picayune, Mississippi. This facility was built to test the Stage I and Stage II rocket engines for the Apollo Program.

In 1966, Bernie accepted the safety engineer position at Fort Riley with the Department of the Army, and in 1967, was promoted to Installation Safety Officer. During those two years at Fort Riley, the 9th Division was reactivated, staffed and deployed to Vietnam.

By 1968, the construction program had increased at Fort Riley, and there was an opportunity to return to the Corps of Engineers Area Office in Manhattan as Assistant Area Engineer until 1971. During this time, he managed the contracts at McConnell Air Force Base, flood control contracts, including dams and levees, as well as other non-military contracts, such as Bulk Mail facilities, GSA and EPA contracts in the Corps area of responsibility.

In 1971, Bernie served a six-month TDY assignment to Heidelberg, Germany, to work on NATO Construction Contracts. Upon return, he accepted an office engineer position in the Area Office, Omaha District (COE) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he served at NORAD, Fort Carson and Air Force installations in Colorado and Wyoming.

Promoted to staff engineer position in 1973, in the Construction Branch of the Missouri River Division (MRD) in Omaha, Nebraska, this division was responsible for Air Force and Army construction on bases in 10 states, as well as civil works contracts within the Missouri River drainage basin. Major programs during these last 15 years included EPA grant programs, Titan and Peacekeeper Missile programs, B-1 bomber bed down, Stealth Whiteman AFB upgrade, SAC AFB projects, hospitals at several Army and Air Force bases, Reserve Program construction and bulk mail facility construction for the U.S. Post Office. During this time, it also was necessary to serve as an instructor in training schools for Corps and Navy personnel in areas of the United States, Pacific and European regions and the Mid East Construction offices.

In 1978, Bernie was promoted to chief of the Construction Division (MRD) in Omaha, Nebraska, and remained in that position until retirement in December of 1990.

Bernie was a member of the Lutheran Church throughout his life and served in professional and civic organizations through the years. He always enjoyed downhill skiing with the family, sail boating and golfing for relaxation.

Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Jana Atchison; son, John (Ginger) Klover; grandson, Tyler Atchison; two nephews; and two nieces.

Bernie was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Ellen Klover; sister, JoAnn Peeks; brother-in-law, Robert Peeks; and nephew, Kevin Peeks.

A service to honor Bernard will be held at a later date (spring/summer) at the Marysville Cemetery in Marysville. Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O?Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services.