Brian David Bernel

Brian David Bernel, 48, a resident of the Banks community passed away on December 1, 2025 at his home.

Brian was born in San Jose, CA on June 7, 1977. He was the youngest of two children born to David and Teruko (Okada) Bernel. When Brian was 16 months old, his family moved to Oregon for his father's work. He grew up in Banks and attended Banks elementary and Junior high schools before attending Jesuit High school in Beaverton and graduating as valedictorian with the class of 1995. He played competitive soccer with the local team in grade school and continued playing soccer at Jesuit. He also lettered in track at Jesuit. He also enjoyed the outdoors, biking, rafting and hiking with friends and family.

Immediately after high school, Brian attended Georgetown University, majoring in psychology and minoring in computer science, earning his bachelor's degree. While in college, Brian was active in competitive ballroom dancing, which brought him to a competition in Europe where his team took first place. He loved to dance and even showed off some of his dance moves at his sister's and cousin's weddings.

After college, Brian began working for a law firm doing IT work in Washington D.C. and stayed there for a few years. Eventually, his love of the Pacific Northwest brought him back to live in Oregon, and he attended the University of Oregon, where he studied law. Although he learned a lot in his law program, his interests eventually led him back to technology.

After an internship at Intel, Brian accepted a job offer as a systems engineer at Intel where he worked for over 12 years. He made close friends at Intel over the years and was very dedicated to his work.

Brian loved cooking for and spending time with family and friends, especially when this was followed by singing karaoke together. It was during his time that his marvelous voice was discovered. What a voice! He loved many of the old Frank Sinatra classics, and one of his favorites was "My Way."

He is preceded in passing by his paternal grandparents; Emmett and Alyce Bernel and maternal grandparents; Harushige and Kura Okada, aunts and uncles; Eiko and Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Chiyoko and Takao Haginoya, Osamu Okada, and cousins Chinami and Hirotaka Okada.

He is survived by his loving parents; David and Terry Bernel, sister, Amy and brother-in-law Aaron Leatherwood of Hillsboro, their children; Kieran, Claire and Elise, aunts and uncles; Reiko Okada, Setsuko and Mikio Wadaira of Japan, Mark and Mary Bernel of North Carolina, and several cousins in Japan, California, and Colorado.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Brian on January 10, 2026 at 1 pm at the Banks United Methodist Church, 42451 NW Depot St, Banks, OR 97106.