Bernie Block, a PEF retiree who worked tirelessly on behalf of the Retired Employees Assistance Program in New York City for many years, died recently of a heart attack while visiting San Francisco.

He was 83. During World War II, he served in the US Army in Germany and in Belgium, where he was wounded.

Block joined state service in September 1970 as a claims examiner in New York City. He helped organize PEF in the late ’70s and later became a shop steward. After retiring in September 1986, Block devoted his talents and energies to helping other retirees statewide. For a decade, he and his wife, Ruth, worked three or four days a week as volunteers for REAP in PEF’s New York City office.

“When Ben Rutter passed away, Bernie took over the chairmanship of REAP until 1998 when the office was disbanded,” recalls Lorraine Ballard, president of the New York City Chapter of PEF Retirees. “Bernie and Ruth did a great service to retirees in difficulty by helping them find assistance.”

For six years, Block served on the Executive Board of the NYC Chapter of PEF Retirees.

“He was sincere, without pretensions, and a good pal,” Ballard says. “We will greatly miss this compassionate, devoted man.”

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