Stuart Bernard

Stuart John Bernard, 42, of Crystal Lake, died Sunday, April 12, 2015 in Barrington after a long and valiant battle with cancer.

He was born on July 25, 1972 to Reginald and Ruth Bernard in Normal, Illinois. He graduated from Bloomington High School and attended Southern Illinois University. He graduated from University of Phoenix with a degree in business.

He was an entrepreneur and owned his own business where he created and designed board and card games. Gaming was one of his favorite passions.

Stuart was also an excellent photographer, devotee of nature, animal lover, and had an interesting and eclectic taste in music. Stu loved to travel and spent several months exploring the US in an old RV where he had many great adventures.

On October 7, 2007, Stuart married Melisa Borino at Wildlife Prairie Park in Peoria, Illinois. Together they lived in Bozeman, Montana where Stuart was the Deputy City Clerk for the City of Bozeman and Jamestown, North Dakota where he worked for South Central Dakota Regional Council and Realtruck.com. In 2011, they settled down in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Stuart is survived by his loving wife of eight years, Melisa Bernard; brother, Stephen Bernard; his parents; and two beautiful cats. He is missed by mother-in-law, Diane Borino; father-in-law, Bruce (Cheryl) Borino; sisters-in-law, Erica (Patrick) Fisher, and Karinda (Richard) Allen; brother-in-law, Cory Matthews; his nephew and nieces; many aunts, uncles and cousins; and countless friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents and his beloved cat, Hoenir.

Memorial visitation will be held from 1pm until the time of service at 4pm, Sunday, April 19 at Davenport Family Funeral Home & Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. (Rt. 176), Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to McHenry County Animal Control or the American Cancer Society.

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