Monday, November 10, 2025
When Ray Bernardo was born, the world looked quite different. Gasoline cost less than a quarter, Babe Ruth was swatting home runs for the New York Yankees, and F. Scott Fitzgerald had just published his timeless classic “The Great Gatsby.”
A century later, Bernardo — a World War II veteran and longtime North Bellmore resident — can say he lived through eras of transformation, both on a global and local scale. On Sept. 20, he turned 100 years old, surrounded by family and friends who gathered to honor a man who has impacted countless lives.
“It’s more like a shock,” he said of reaching the milestone. “I have all of my faculties, and I don’t forget anything. I have a good memory.”
Bernardo was born in Rockville Centre, the second youngest of 13 children of Francesco and Lena, an Italian immigrant family from Benevento. Ten of his siblings were girls. One of his brothers passed away when Ray was just four months old, but his sister Nicki lived to be 112. His brother George, 94, is his only surviving sibling.
Francesco Bernardo was a builder, but he never became a U.S. citizen after emigrating. That meant his children were automatically citizens of both Italy and the United States. Under Italian nationality law, sons and daughters can claim Italian citizenship jure sanguinis “by right of blood” if their father was an Italian citizen at the time of their birth.
Being born in the U.S. automatically granted Ray American citizenship, but it did not cancel out Italian citizenship by descent.
“Oh, he loved it here in America,” Bernardo said of his father.
Bernardo attended the former Clinton Avenue School, built in 1896 and now home to St. Agnes Cathedral Elementary School.
At age 20, he volunteered for service in World War II. He was stationed in Germany from 1945 to 1947, during the Allied Occupation of Berlin. While not in combat, he served in a supervisory role with his group.
“We would just take care of people,” Bernardo recalled. “I wasn’t in combat. I’m happy that I didn’t have to kill anybody, because I went near the end [of the war].”
In fact, what he did find in Germany was love. He met his first wife, the former Ursula Flick, and they married on Sept. 27, 1947. The couple moved into their home on Waltoffer Avenue in North Bellmore almost a year later, following the birth of their first child, Frank.
At the time, the hamlet was mostly farmland, and Newbridge Road was little more than a dusty two-lane passageway. Their second child, Sue, was born in 1949.
But not all of the memories in that home were pleasant. In 1965, Bernardo nearly died at age 40 from a hypertensive crisis. He recalled looking down on his own body, seeing heaven, and speaking with the Almighty.
“I died,” he declared. “I hovered over my body, and I went to heaven, and I guess God was talking to me. God said to me, ‘You have to go back.’ I was thinking that I wanted to stay because I liked it there. That’s why I’m not afraid to die, because I died already. It was very interesting, the voices that you hear.”
Ursula passed away in 1989. Later, Bernardo dated a woman named Pauline for 10 years, but her parents would not allow her to marry someone who wasn’t of Greek descent. What seemed like heartbreak at the time turned into a blessing in disguise, because soon after, he met Diane during a chance encounter in Huntington.
Diane, also widowed, had two daughters from her first marriage: Dena Mary Bocchino, now 55, and Jamel Elena Badrieh, 53. Diane and Ray married in 2005.
“He is the type of person who will bend over backwards,” Diane said. “He’ll give you his last piece of bread. He’s very attentive, does a lot of things, goes out of his way. He’s a really good person. He’s true to his word. What can I say? We like each other’s company.”
Badrieh said she took to him immediately.
“I liked Ray right away,” she said. “He was always just the rock. Growing up, my dad was estranged from me, so I never really had a dad. I call [Bernardo] my ‘Pops.’ Stepdad is weird to me because he wasn’t really that. I feel like when he passes, he’s going to be my guardian angel, because that’s who he is.”
Hard work and community have defined Bernardo’s life. He raised a family, ran dry cleaning and tailoring businesses — including the former Ardos store on Newbridge Road in East Meadow — and later worked as a custodian at John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School for 14 years. Located just steps from his home, the school became a second home in many ways.
“My father would work two or three jobs to make ends meet, but he always made time for his children,” his son Frank said in a text. “He was a nurturing and caring father and provided opportunities for his children that he never had.”
Even in retirement, Bernardo remained active. As recently as 15 years ago, he biked from Bellmore to Jones Beach.
To mark his milestone birthday, Bernardo’s family took him on a dinner cruise along the Hudson River, with the New York City skyline as a backdrop. He received a standing ovation from everyone in attendance, according to Badrieh.
These days, Bernardo keeps his mind sharp by doing crossword puzzles and playing his piano keyboard. He enjoys watching game shows like “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” as well as boxing and wrestling.
He has also been a lifelong gardener, raising tomatoes that have gone into his signature sauce — a source of pride in Italian families.
As he reflected on a century of memories, surrounded by loved ones, Bernardo didn’t credit luck or genetics for his longevity, but something much simpler.
“Well, the secret is to have love in your heart and love people,” he said. “I think that’s the secret — not to be angry toward people. That’s what I think anyhow.”
