Bernard F. Craig, Jr. passed away on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. He was 62 years old.
Visiting will be in the Prout Funeral Home, 370 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona on Saturday, December 2 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 6:30 p.m.
Born in East Orange, Bernie grew up in Verona and moved to Caldwell in 1986. He graduated from Seton Hall Prep in 1979 and attended Seton Hall University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi and then received an Associate Degree from the Mechanics Institute in New York City.
Bernie served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1983 aboard the USS Recovery 43. He was a member of the VFW in Sacramento, California.
Bernie started working as a construction laborer in New York City and rose to executive director, construction, for Wexford Science & Technology, a major real estate development company, in both Baltimore, Maryland and Edison, New Jersey. Bernie managed the development of a number of Wexford’s research parks from the Southeast to the West Coast. He was particularly proud of the success of their Wake Forest project. He was excited to be heading up their current multi-year project, U.C.Davis-Aggie Square, in Sacramento.
He was predeceased by his parents, Bernard F. and Mary (LaNauze) Craig; his brother, Steven Craig; his father-in-law, Giovanni Cilenti and his brother-in-law, Fred Tempesta.
Bernie is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Maria C. Craig; his siblings, Rosemary C. Tempesta, Eileen C. Altieri (Aldo), Michael J. Craig (Nicole) and his many nieces and nephews.
He is also survived by the Cilenti family, his mother-in-law, Carmela, sister-in-law, Silvia “wingman #1” (Rick), his brother-in-law, Justin (Kristi) “wingman #2”, Gio and very special cousins, Diane and Mike (his partner in crime).
A private cremation will take place.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Backpacks for Life. Backpacks for Life assists homeless veterans with backpacks filled with daily and longer term supplies.
