John Southard, Bernie Crystal and Jerry O’Connell — three veterans united in remembrance.
Bernard (Bernie) Crystal of Courter Avenue in Maplewood passed away early this morning.
For decades, Crystal — along with wife Joan — has been a fixture in Maplewood, helping to plan the Memorial Day Parade and participating in the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at Town Hall. Crystal clearly was devoted to his fellow vets and VFW Post 10120 in Maplewood. In 2009, he lamented the dwindling membership as younger vets did not seek to join. Crystal himself said the VFW had provided “companionship with people who knew what we went through.”
Recently, Bernie had experienced declining health. Joan has been writing about her experiences caring for Bernie on MaplewoodOnline.com since September.
The service for Bernie will be at Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, 2122 Millburn Avenue in Maplewood, between 3 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 31. VFW Post 10120 will be present at the service, according to member B. John Kaufman.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Crystal died at home.
