Richard Charles Bernhardt

Richard Charles Bernhardt, 76, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 28 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rick is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Linda; daughters, Shannon (Craig) Baughn and Ashley (Jeff) Howerton; five grandchildren, Trinity Baughn, Kalyn Baughn, Xander Baughn, Henry Howerton and Will Howerton; and sister, Cheryl Bernhardt. Rick is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Bessie Bernhardt; and brother, Sam Bernhardt.

As soon as you met Rick, his goal was to learn your story. He loved hearing the history of those around him and finding ways to connect. His interests ranged from genealogy and city planning, to motorcycles and Christmas villages, to sports statistics and his cats. He was always reading something new and continuing to push himself to grow. Rick was an avid supporter of his grandson's baseball and basketball teams as well as Belmont Basketball. He loved supporting local art and anything Nashville.

Rick always dreamed of being a city planner and lived out that dream for more than 45 years. He honed his love of city planning in Nashville, Hopkinsville, KY and Gainesville, FL. Rick served as the Planning Director for Orlando, FL for 18 years and participated in the beginning of the Congress for New Urbanism. Eventually he returned to his hometown and served as Nashville's planning director for 15 years, where he focused the department's work on building great neighborhoods and revitalizing urban areas.

Rick was educated at Auburn University (B.S. in Economics) and The Ohio State University (Master of City Planning with a concentration in housing and urban structure) and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University in 1997.

We are thankful for the friends who supported him over the years including his Covenant Men's Group, Friendship and Koinonia Sunday School classes, his motorcycle buddies and the Glencliff High School alumni groups. For those in Nashville, please go enjoy Nashville Biscuit House who will miss his almost daily visits.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Belmont United Methodist Church with visitation with the family immediately following. The place of burial is Calvary Cemetery in Nashville (with a great view of the city per Rick.) In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Abe's Garden Community. The family wishes to extend sincere thanks to Dr. Tara Horr and the many doctors at Vanderbilt Hospital who cared for Rick over the years.