Obituary: Bernard Dorogusker, 97, Formerly Of Westport

The following obituary is from Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home:

On June 29, 2023, Bernard Dorogusker passed away with beloved family at his side. He was 97 years young. Bernie was born in the Bronx on June 24, 1926 to immigrant parents, Nathan and Anna Dorogusker. Although times were not easy, he and his two siblings experienced a full NYC childhood with a large, loving family in the city. As a child, he helped in his father’s store, sold comics on the corner, and even sold hot dogs at Yankee Stadium. At 13, he attended the 1939 World’s Fair.

Bernie was a WWII veteran, having served in the United States Army in the European Theatre under the command of General George S. Patton, Jr. He frequently said, tongue in cheek, that if he could “make it through combat on the back of a Sherman tank, he could do anything.”

Bernie was educated in New York, and after receiving his honorable discharge, he attended both RCNY and the RCA Institutes for post graduate work in radio and electrical engineering. He loved everything about computers, instrumentation, and technology, and started his career building computers at IBM. This led him to a decades long career in engineering at the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, where he worked on notable projects for the U.S. government, including instrumentation for various aircraft, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. Thus began his love for all technology that was space-related. He met his future wife, Barbara Helen Zepko at Perkin-Elmer, and they married in 1959, finally settling down to start a family in a modest neighborhood near Compo Beach in Barbara’s home town of Westport, CT.

Bernie’s passion for all things sports included racing cars, skiing, and sailing. In the early '60s, he finally turned in his iconic Austin Healey to focus on serious One Design competitive sailing. Cedar Point Yacht Club became his second love, after his family, and Bernie and his Thistle #1124, “Zelda III”, were a fixture of an award-winning fleet for many, many years. He was instrumental in growing the various fleets at the club, and was a master technical scorekeeper for all things racing at CPYC. After decades of successful racing, he finally retired his boat, and set his sights on Race Committee. He became Principal Race Officer for the Cruising Fleet, and the Cruising Class honors him every year with the perpetual Bernie Dorogusker Trophy for every division in their Wednesday night series.

He was fascinated by wind patterns, aerodynamics, and sail performance, and spent many years studying data and research. Whether it was sailing an Atlantic, a Thistle, a Star, a Laser, or a Super Sprite, just to name a few, his awards, accomplishments, and friends at CPYC are many.

Bernie is survived by his beloved family: wife, Barbara Dorogusker of Trumbull, CT; daughters Robin Dorogusker of Boxford, MA, and Laurie Weisensee of Trumbull, CT; grandsons, Erik Weisensee and Alex Weisensee; brother Alvin Dorogusker, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Nathan and Anna, and his sister, Renie Zinsmeister.

A Graveside Service with Military Honors will be held on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at Oak Lawn Cemetery, 1530 Bronson Rd., Fairfield, CT. A Memorial Service at the Cedar Point Yacht Club will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org or to the American Cancer Society, https://donate.cancer.org.