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Subject: Bernard SKERKER obituary
Date: 18 Oct 2004 10:29:39 -0600

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Surnames: SKERKER
Classification: Obituary

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Buffalo News, The (NY) - September 26, 1995

BERNARD SKERKER, NOTED UB ALUMNUS

Bernie Skerker never threw a pass or made a crunching tackle for the University at Buffalo football team.

But his unwavering support for the team and the university made him one of UB's most honored alumni. He served as president of the UB Boosters Club in the 1960s, won the Samuel P. Capen Award as the outstanding alumnus in 1967 and earned induction into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Skerker, 76, died Sunday (Sept. 24, 1995) in Millard Fillmore Hospital, ending more than a half-century relationship with the university he loved. A memorial service for Skerker was held today in the Sisterhood Chapel of Temple Beth Zion on Delaware Avenue.

Besides his other UB roles, Skerker, the longtime chairman of Robinson Knife Co., also served as president of the UB Scholarship Fund in the 1960s and set up a scholarship fund with his family for children of Robinson Knife employees.

A native of Bradford, Pa., Skerker graduated from Lafayette High School in 1936 and enrolled at UB before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940. He served with the Army infantry in North Africa, Italy and southern France during World War II and later moved into the Army's Intelligence Division. Skerker rose to the rank of captain before his discharge in 1945.

That year he joined Robinson Knife, serving as

secretary-treasurer, president and then chairman of the Springville company, a position he still held at the time of his death. Skerker was credited with building Robinson Knife Co. into a prominent national manufacturer and distributor of various housewares.

An outgoing man who loved to be where the action was, Skerker became an unofficial member of the Buffalo Police Homicide Bureau. He often responded to murder scenes, assisted in some

investigations, was active in the department's Civilian Scientific Squad and became a fixture in Police Headquarters on weekends.

Skerker also served on the Millard Fillmore Hospital board for about nine years in the 1980s, including a stint as board secretary.

Surviving are his wife of 46 years, the former Mona Wiener; two sons, Robert and Larry; a daughter, Joan; three sisters, Sadie Ellerstein Gavenda, Fay Goldstein and Marjorie Lazar; and two grandchildren.

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