FLORENCE – A former well-loved Dillon pharmacist has died at the age of 91. Mortimer Heiden “Mort” Bernanke, died on September 1, 2020 at McLeod Hospice in Florence, South Carolina. A private burial service was held on Thursday, September 3rd at Greenlawn Cemetery in Dillon. An online Memorial Service will be held later in September for friends and family.
Bernanke was born in New York on December 13, 1928 to Jonas and Pauline Heiden Bernanke. Jonas Bernanke was from Austria and had emigrated to this country from Poland. Jonas and Pauline Bernanke arrived at Ellis Island on June 30, 1921.
In 1941, Jonas Bernanke and his family moved to Dillon, where he opened Jay Bee Drug Company. Mort was 13 and during his school years he manned the soda fountain at the drug store, a popular Dillon spot at the time. After high school, he went on to college and graduated in 1951, receiving his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
To help the family out during these college years Mort would come home on the weekends from Columbia to work in the drug store. After graduating, Mortimer joined his father’s side full time in the family business in Dillon, and met Rita Strobing while on vacation in Florida. She had attended Rutgers University and was a social worker in New York City, New York. Rita and Mort married in 1955, and their first child Mindy was born in 1956, who is a Speech-Language Pathologist in Atlanta, GA. Their second child Marc was born in 1961, who is a long-time technology industry executive.
Mort practiced in Dillon with his father and his brother, Phil for over forty years. Upon the sale of the family business, he opened a medical supply company to help his long-time customers for another dozen years before finally retiring and moving to Florence. Both he and his brother were always there for the people of Dillon, day or night, when they needed help with medicines, an ailment or simply advice because there were so few doctors in the early years.
Several years after Rita died, Mort found a second companion, Pat Siegel. Both Mort and Pat found happiness late in life for over 15 years.
Mort was a long-time member of Beth Israel in Florence, participating in services, social events and study. He also loved travel, history, theater and art of all kinds. He was engaging, loyal, funny and loved by many in the community, and he will be sorely missed by everyone.
Survivors include his companion, Pat, daughter Mindy, son, Marc (Roberta), and by his grandchildren Scott, Amy, Julia, Matthew and Danna. Memorials may be made to one of his favorite charities, Heart to Heart, the Israeli Girls Orphanage and Children’s Home at levlalev.com.
You may sign the online guestbook at www.kannadayfuneralhome.com.
