William H. "Bill" Bernstein

The Late Bloomer
William H. was the oldest of four sons ‹ arriving three minutes before his fraternal twin, Robert. The two younger brothers, Steven and David, also twins, were born four years later.

Among four boys growing up in Brooklyn, life was competitive, which posed a challenge to William Bernstein ‹ Billy, as he was known ‹ because he was such a late bloomer physically.

"At his bar mitzvah, he was a foot shorter than his twin," said his brother Steven Bernstein. But he did fill out later, becoming about a 6-foot-2, 220-pound adult, devoted to bodybuilding and karate.

William Bernstein, 44, a mortgage bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, was closest to Robert. "Same grade schools," the latter said in a memorial service, "same camps, same high school, same college, Syracuse University, living in the same co-op building, working in the same neighborhood, downtown Manhattan."

Yet they were not carbon copies. Robert Bernstein is known as meticulous in his habits, while William was more laid back, though he took great care in his appearance. Robert said his brother was more reserved, too, but once people got to know him, "they could see the genuineness, the kindness."