Reprinted with permission of the Albuquerque Journal
Thursday, May 27, 2004

Gordon Bernell Began Jail's Literacy, Volunteer Programs

By Paul Logan
Journal Staff Writer
Gordon Bernell helped thousands of inmates to read, write and earn high school degrees. Some even went to college.
Bernell, who used a wheelchair because of polio, started many literacy and volunteer programs for the Bernalillo County Detention Center during his 19-year career.
He also worked to help government buildings become more accessible for people with disabilities.
Bernell, an Albuquerque resident for more than 50 years, and his wife of 40 years, Sue, moved to Las Vegas, Nev., last September to be near family because he was becoming weak from the effects of polio, a disease he contracted at 18.
Bernell died May 6 at home of complications from the disease. He was 67.
Bernell was known for his honesty, sincerity and compassion, said longtime friend Alex Abeyta Jr., Bernalillo County treasurer.
Abeyta said Bernell was an intelligent person who "really gave of himself."
"He was the only guy who could go into an open population alone and no one would bother him. They all loved him because they knew that he was there to do good, and to help them with whatever problems they had."
A service was held May 7. A memorial service will be held sometime in August in Albuquerque, said his daughter, Julie Ostrovsky of Las Vegas, Nev.
"He just believed that there was good in everyone," Ostrovsky said.
She said her father's philosophy about inmates was positive: "If you helped them to find the good in themselves and believe in themselves, they would want to succeed and not come back to jail."
Bernell was born in Detroit on May 14, 1936. His family moved to Albuquerque when he was a child. After he graduated from Highland High School, Bernell contracted poliomyelitis, a viral disease that can cause paralysis or muscle weakness.
Bernell would rely on a wheelchair for most of his life.
He went to the University of New Mexico and earned a law degree, said his son, David Bernell of Corvallis, Ore.
"Pretty early on he decided he wasn't going to live a life of 'Oh, woe is me,' '' his son said. "He figured out how to make the best with what he did have."
Instead of practicing law, Bernell and Abeyta were partners in a vending machine business, Coffee Club of New Mexico, for about 25 years.
"He never felt like he was incapacitated in any way," Abeyta said. "He would say, 'I can do anything everybody else does— but walk,' and he could."
In 1983, Bernell left the business to work for Bernalillo County as a case worker.
During his first year, he helped start a library and a clothing bank to help inmates, his daughter said.
Bernell became director of volunteers, education and special programming. He helped thousands of inmates, Abeyta said.
In a 1989 Journal story, Bernell talked about inmates earning their high school equivalency diplomas. He said residents in the general population who were not in the education program would return to jail 45 to 50 percent of the time.
"The question is, can we rehabilitate somebody? No," Bernell said. "But we can give them new skills so if they choose, they can rehabilitate themselves."
His son said inmates who earned their diplomas never returned to the detention center.
"A couple people came to live with us in our home when they got out," his son recalled. "... More than a few of them said that Dad really just saved their lives and they wouldn't be here without him."
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