DEXTER – Robert Lee Berner, 92, died Dec. 22, 2008, of congestive heart failure, at Mayo Regional Hospital, Dover-Foxcroft. He was born July 25, 1916, in Everett, Wash., son of Heinrich and Lillian (Morrow) Berner. Lee joined the U.S. Navy in 1936, and in 1937 he was serving on the USS Detroit at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. He served on destroyers, submarines, cruisers and minesweepers. He was on convoy duty in the North Atlantic for Lend Lease shipment during World War II and in November 1942, he was transferred to duty covering the landings in North Africa. He later served in both Korea and Vietnam. In 1957 he retired with the rank of chief quartermaster. After retirement he joined the U.S. Corps of Engineers as a navigator. In 1960 he joined the Military Sealift Command, MSC, serving on missile tracking ships for Cape Canaveral. In 1970 MSC named him Marine Employee of the Year, for saving a life at sea. Robert was a member of First Universalist Church of Dexter; Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis; Anah Temple Shrine, Bangor; a 32nd degree Mason, with membership at Penobscot Masonic Lodge, Dexter. He was predeceased by his wife, Eleanor (Small) Berner; a brother, Heinrich Paul Berner; and a son-in-law, Alexander E. Waller Jr. He is survived by a daughter, Rosemary Waller of Dexter; a son, William R. Berner and his wife, Susan, of Rockledge, Fla.; four grandchildren, Scott and Christopher Berner, and Lindsay Waller and Victoria Waller Sovetsky; three great-grandchildren, Annika, Alexander and Kayley; a brother, Richard C. Berner and his wife, Thelma, of Seattle; nieces, nephews and cousins. Memorial services will be held in the summer 2009 with burial at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Dexter. Arrangements by Crosby & Neal, Dexter. For an online guest register, go to www.CrosbyNeal.com.
ROBERT LEE BERNER
