Written by wife, Colleen:

This is to tell all just a very little bit about my husband, Bernie Molekamp.

As Charles Darwin said, “The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.” This was the way Bernie lived his life. He was always most kind to anyone who needed help. He was caring, noble, totally honest in all things, and had a great strength of character that I admired. He always stood up for what was right.

We have been together since 1971, and I knew right away that he was very special.

He worked very hard to support his family. He started his own business, Bernie's Pest Control, and worked for a large trucking company. He worked very hard driving, loading and unloading the large trucks. They knew when Bernie was on the job, the job would be done and done right. He was their most valued employee. Most of the time, he would get twice the amount of work done as the other employees.

Yet he still had energy and time for fun. He loved to sail his boat in the San Diego waters.

When our daughter Maria was on the boat, he would help her to fish. Some of the creatures caught were a shark, an octopus, even a sea gull trying to get the bait. He would carefully remove the hook and set them free. When they caught the shark, Maria replied that, “He was a nice shark.” Her dad taught her to love all creatures.

He would go way out of his way to rescue any creature that needed help. I was called many times to come to work and help him to rescue this kitten, puppy, litter of kittens, etc. He would even drive around in his truck with a rescued animal until he could get it a home. It did not matter if it was a cat, dog, hummingbird, tarantula, or a snake. he would rescue them all.

Once at a construction site where they were plowing the earth, he rescued a rattlesnake, put it in his lunchbox, and drove it to where it would be safe. If God made it, and it needed help, Bernie would help it.

He was always extremely active and loved to water ski, hike to new places, and climb mountains. One day we were climbing Mt. Whitney. I only made it halfway up. Bernie went all the way up his mountains. I was attacked by a beehive. I thought I could stand there and fight them off. Bernie was up ahead a bit. He turned to check on me and came running back and pulled me to safety. He was always like that. He was my hero.

I was fascinated by his charm and extremely good looks. He was the coolest guy in the room. But it was his strong character that was the most beautiful.

He was in the hospital for 2 months. It was so hard for Bernie.

One day, Maria asked God to have mercy on her dad. Shortly thereafter, his suffering ended. He went home to God. I feel that was a very brave prayer for our daughter to pray. She loved him dearly.

One night I dreamed that Bernie called me to come over to him. He hugged me tightly for a long time. When I think of him, I will remember his hugs and his sweetness. I miss him greatly. It was wonderful what we shared together. God bless you my dear Bernie.

Written by daughter, Maria: 

My dad, Bernie Molekamp, was special to me. He always made sure to take me places like Las Vegas, Mexico, camping with friends, to the beach to fly a kite, to the desert to target shoot, to the Redwoods, and on his boat to sail in San Diego. He was a lot of fun. He taught me practicality. I could always ask a question about history, schoolwork, the world, and he almost always knew the answer. Even on his last day he so cared about me, and told me, "Maria, get into bed because it's cold."

I will always miss my Dad.

Written by John Jacobson: 

I am very blessed to have had a friend like Bernie in my life. He was the kid who loved football and moved to my neighborhood around the time I was in high school. I was always a very shy kid, and, knowing Bernie changed my life. There was a gang of us high schoolers who hung out in Bernie's room, especially on the weekends. We would play music and drink beer. We preferred Colt 45 and Baby Knicks. We also danced to Mitch Rider, Jimi Hendrix, and the Stones. Since Bernie was such a handsome dude, girls would also come over at times, when they weren't walking back and forth in front of his house to get his attention. Bernie was the quarterback of the high school football team, and I do believe that we won some games. Bernie was an all-around well liked kid. We stayed in touch after I abandoned New York for parts west. Many years ago I visited Bernie, Colleen and Maria in Arizona. Colleen is a great cook, and she made a wonderful vegetarian lasagna. We also went to Sedona, and Bernie also took me to the countryside to shoot off his .22 caliber pistol, which I had never done before. A group of us "guys" also met at Johnny Zimmerman's condo in Florida about ten years ago. We had a great time hanging out and reminiscing. We were quite a gang! I only have a few friends that I consider as true friends, special people who have meant so much to me in my life. I consider Bernie to be one of these friends, and I will always carry him in my heart. May God bless Bernie, and may he continue to enjoy playing in the afterlife. His spirit remains with all of us, and I send special love and condolences to Colleen and Maria.