BRUNSWICK — Russell G. Bernier, 92, died Dec. 24 at Mid Coast Senior Center.

Born on April 28, 1919 in Brunswick, he was the son of Joseph and Albertine (Fortin) Bernier. He grew up in Brunswick, graduating from Brunswick High School in 1937, where he was a member of the traveling ice hockey team that won the state championship two years in a row.

Bernier worked at a local gas station on Maine Street in Brunswick and in the Varney Mill for a few years before making a career move to join the U.S. Air Force in 1942. Before being deployed in 1942, he met his soul mate, Anita Tute, the woman he knew he would spend his life with. He asked her to wait for him and on Oct. 6, 1945, the couple married and made their home in Brunswick.

He was also employed at Cushman Delivery, retiring in the mid-1980s, later going back to work for Cottle’s Supermarkets, finally retiring many years later.

Bernier was a family man and there was not anything he would not do for them. An avid sports fan, he especially loved watching the Bruins, Red Sox and the Patriots. If there was a game on, he was watching, at least until his team was on the losing end, when he would shut off the “tube.”

His family and friends will remember him as a kind man with a big heart for everyone he met.

Bernier was predeceased by his wife Anita in 2005, his daughter Melita Bernier in 1984, and a sister Muriell Roy who died in 2002.

He is survived by a nephew and niece, David and Robin Roy of Brunswick and their children, Leanne Foster of Oxford, Leslie Dumais of Scarborough, and Brian Roy of Brunswick.

The family would like to thank Bernier’s wonderful and caring neighbors, who made it possible for him to stay in his home until the time of his death.

Donations may be made in Bernier’s name to St. John the Baptist Church, 132 McKee St., Brunswick, ME 04011. A graveside service will be held at St. John’s Cemetery in Brunswick in the spring.

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