Virginia Tech mourns the loss of Dr. Bernard "Bernie" F. Feldman
Bernard "Bernie" F. Feldman of Check, Va., professor of biomedical sciences and pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech , was killed in an automobile accident Feb. 19.
He was 66 years old and is survived by his wife Dr. Karen Thomason and his 8-year-old son Jay.
Feldman was an internationally recognized clinical pathologist and hematologist who joined the faculty of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. For the past 14 years he has taught and mentored DVM and graduate students, and directed the Veterinary Clinical Diagnostics, Clinical Pathology and Comparative Hemostasis Laboratories in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
"This is an enormous loss, not only for our college, but for the international veterinary community," said Dr. Lud Eng, a long-time colleague and head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology. "Bernie was a tremendous professional and a wonderful colleague. We will all miss him deeply."
In the mid-1990's he led efforts to create the Companion Animal Blood Bank that serviced veterinary practices throughout the two states. He served as the president of the Virginia Tech Faculty Association from 1992-93.
A former Captain in the United States Air Force, Feldman earned his DVM degree from the University of Illinois. He earned his Ph.D. in comparative pathology from the University of California at Davis, where he also served as a National Institutes of Health Fellow in Clinical Pathology. Feldman subsequently served on faculty at UC-Davis for the next 22 years.
Feldman was a former visiting professor and director of the Hematology-Oncology Clinic at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, a former visiting professor of veterinary clinical pathology at the Royal Veterinary College in Frederiksburg, Denmark, and a former Visiting Scholar at the International Laboratory for Research in Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya. He was named Honorary Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universities of Buenos Aires and Cordoba in Argentina.
He was currently serving on the board of the Veterinary Institute for Emergency Medicine and Critical Care in Milwaukee, Wis., and a member of the Executive Board of the Veterinary Laboratory Association.
Feldman served as editor of several national and international research journals, published more than 300 manuscripts, wrote one book and edited two others, lectured in 27 foreign countries and he received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and research. Feldman was a former executive board member, Secretary Treasurer, Vice President and President of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.
He was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the California and Virginia Veterinary Medical Associations, the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology, the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society and the American Association of Veterinary Sports Medicine.
In lieu of flowers contributions be made to either the Floyd County Animal Shelter Expansion Program, P.O. Box, 218, Floyd, VA 24091, or the Floyd County Humane Society, P. O. Box 862, Floyd, VA, 24091.
