Simon Bernstein

BERNSTEIN, JUDGE SIMON Born in Hartford on January 17, 1913, Judge Simon Bernstein died at his home in Sarasota, FL on May 27, 2013. He is survived by his beloved daughters, Judith Kahn (Steven Rosen), Sara Bernstein (Judge Joseph Shortall) and Dr. Risa Sodi (Stefano). He also leaves his grandsons, David and Alexander Sodi. Judge Bernstein was predeceased by his wife Muriel in 1989, and his wife Mary Ann in 2012. He leaves as survivors his stepchildren, Paul Hytken, Alice Elam and Betsy Kaplan, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Judge Bernstein, at age 16, went to Trinity College, followed by Harvard Law School. While maintaining a private law practice in Hartford, he was active in civic and Jewish affairs, serving as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1960-1963. He was also a judge for 27 years, retiring from the Connecticut Superior Court. A delegate to the 1965 Constitutional Convention, he considered his most important professional achievement the adoption, over strong opposition, of an amendment guaranteeing free elementary and secondary education for all of Connecticut's children, paving the way for recent rulings that all Connecticut children have the right to a free, equal, and quality education. Funeral services at 11:00 AM on Sunday, June 2, 2013, at the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT.