Fairport, NY: February 17, 2020. Bert was predeceased by his father and business partner and best friend David A. Falk and his very kind mother June Falk. He graduated from RIT and worked in the machinery business as both a salesman and an appraiser. He loved his daily lunches with his Dad and their every Tuesday night dinner at Grinnell’s Restaurant at the corner table. Bert spent summers with his family at their cottage on Canandaigua Lake and loved to tell stories of his escapades there with his brothers and friends. Bert lived in Pittsford, Conesus Lake and Fairport. He loved spending time with his family, especially his grand children, and with his friends on the lake and at the BeachComber. He enjoyed his time on the water but only in motor boats. No kayaks or sail boats for him. He loved dinners out with a smooth glass of whiskey or two. He also enjoyed Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast at The Lakeville Family Restaurant and The Landmark Family Restaurant. Bert loved music, especially rock from the 60’s and 70’s and could play a mean electric guitar. He only wore long sleeved shirts and always wore sunglasses. He was extremely proud of his lawn maintenance abilities and has often been accused of combing and coaxing each individual strand of grass. He was a meticulously tidy extremely logical conservative Republican married to a chronically-mess-making logic-free liberal Democrat. Best described as an acquired taste, his sarcastic and quick humor was greatly appreciated by most.
He had a long standing friendship with Jon Steeves with whom he both worked and played. His buddy and lake brother Danny Better brought him great joy. And his friend and cousin Danny VanZielin always made him laugh. He had opinions on absolutely everything and frequently wrote letters to the editorial page of the D and C. He believed that any situation in life could be resolved with a quote from The Godfather movies. He made his wife laugh every day, even when she really wanted to be mad at him. And he made her feel loved every day. He especially loved being a father and being called Poppy by his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, their children Chris and Sarah, Rob and Laura, Ben and Aubrey and their grandchildren Jodi, Audrey and Violet, August and Ambrose, and River and Gunnar and by his beloved cat Abraham.
He is also survived by his brother Jon Falk and his wife Candace, and his brother Rufus Falk and his wife Barbara, his niece Molly and her husband Mark and their baby girl Finley, his nephew Jason and his fiancé Annie, his niece Rachel and her husband Marc and their sons Max and Adam, and his beloved cat Abraham for whom he would do anything.
Bert and his brothers were close in age and they enjoyed their time together both at the cottage on Canandaigua and later with Candace and Barbara and the many family events and dinners over the years. Bert was very proud of his niece Molly and his nephew Jason and they brought him great joy. He loved being Uncle Bert.
His family would like to thank the incredible team at Highland Hospital on 5 East, in the Palliative Care Department and Hospice. They took such good care of Bert and his family and their kindnesses are too many to mention. Special thanks to nurses Kayleigh, Ellen, Pauline and Zach and the ever kind and appropriately named Love.
Bert will be greatly missed by his family and friends. As we have heard so often during the last few days, he was one of a kind. Please join our family at Sibby’s on Sunday, February 23rd anytime between 2 and 6 to raise a glass to Bert.
Bert had a long standing battle with his wife regarding political elections. With their opposing views, they essentially cancelled each other’s vote. The deal was whoever survived, that person would get the last laugh. So, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite Democratic Candidate, Planned Parenthood or the ACLU. Gotcha!