Bernard Beller, a Chicago attorney for more than 40 years, was known for his good nature and one-liners.
“He was always ready with a joke,” said his daughter Sheila, who once practiced law with her father. “He was always ready with a smile. You could call him for anything, and he’d help and cheer you up with a joke.”
Mr. Beller, 86, died Tuesday, Oct. 11 from prostate cancer at Northwestern Palliative Care and Home Hospice in Chicago.
Mr. Beller had a general practice with an emphasis on personal injury law until he retired in 1991.
Born in 1919 in Chicago to Russian immigrants, he was the sixth of nine children. As the last surviving sibling, he remained devoted to his nieces and nephews.
Mr. Beller graduated from Marshall High School in 1935, then headed to California.
“He wanted to be an actor, so he hitchhiked his way out there,” his daughter said. “That was his adventure period.”
She recently found narratives her father wrote about his hitchhiking days called “Highway Humor.” They recount his experiences, many of them amusing, while making his way across the country.
Mr. Beller attended Santa Monica Junior College in Santa Monica, Calif., and in 1937 was a boxing tournament champion in the 135-pound division. He returned to Chicago and received his bachelor of arts degree from Central YMCA College in 1943.
After graduation, he was a lieutenant in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He was stationed in Japan after World War II ended.
Mr. Beller received his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1948.
He met his late wife Jean, a Holocaust survivor, at a resort in Wisconsin when he took her hand to help her off a boat. They were married in 1949.
Mr. Beller played handball, participated in Golden Gloves boxing and, after he retired, golfed several times a week.
“He used a lot of boxing metaphors,” his daughter said. “He always told us to keep on punching.”
Mr. Beller raised his family in Park Forest before returning to Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood in 1979.
Mr. Beller is also survived by another daughter, Rosanne, and his companion, Millie Stock.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Shalom Memorial Park, Rand Road and Illinois Highway 53, Arlington Heights.
