Obituary of Bernie Vaillancour

Bernard Ernest Vaillancour, a long-time resident of Portland, died Monday, January 3rd after a long battle with Alzheimers. He was 96 years old. Born in 1925 in Ashland, Oregon, Bernie spent his first few years there before moving to Klamath Falls, where he attended high school. Growing up in K Falls was idyllic, with a highlight of his time there being kicking the game winning field goal for their state championship team. Shortly after graduating from high school he enlisted in the Navy, where he spent 4 years with the Seabees. Upon completion of his tour he had various jobs, including doing construction work on a large build, where he “acquired” his infamous 4-digit left hand, due to losing a finger from a saw accident. All his grandchildren thought that was really cool! He eventually settled at Nabisco, where he was a shipping director”. It’s there where he met his future wife, Nancy at a company picnic. Bernie found reasons to go by Nancy’s office just to flirt with her and they quickly became an item. Bernie and Nancy married in 1953, raising three daughters, two of whom were twins. When they found out that they were having twins, Dad would only pick out boy names. Upon hearing that he had two more girls he walked out of the room! But he went on to enjoy being the only man in the house, being responsible for all of his girls. He would patiently put worms on the girls’ fishing hooks, take the family camping every weekend in the summer, and teach all the joys of gardening. He was known by his girls’ friends as “The Cookie Man” because of the cupboard full of Nabisco treats. Bernie and Nancy enjoyed many things together; gardening, traveling, but most importantly their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nancy died in 2016 and Bernie didn’t know how he would be able to live without her, but he continued to live in their house until just months before his death, gardening, puttering, and enjoying the company of his girls. He was the model of a gentle giant…kind-hearted, patient, witty, generous, and a hard-worker. He loved his family so well. He will be greatly missed.