Bernard Gilbert Platt

Bernard Gilbert Platt, O.D., LCDR, MSC, USN (ret), 90, of Richmond, died Saturday, March 4, 2006. He was born January 1, 1916 in Norfolk, Va., the middle son of the late Abraham Lewis and Fanny Kirstein Platt. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Dorothy Norma Jacobs; a son, Stewart D. Platt; and a daughter, Shelley A. Platt, all of Richmond; his older brother, Leo Platt of Boca Raton, Fla.; and many nieces and nephews. His younger brother, Kenneth Platt predeceased him. Dr. Platt was a 1942 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. In August, 1942, as a freshly-minted Ensign, he reported for duty at the Navy Communications Center in Boston, Mass. He served until 1946, in the Pacific and European theaters of WWII, including on Guam, M. I., and as a Communications Officer aboard the USS Tuscaloosa for D-day. He rejoined the Navy in 1948 as an optometrist in the newly founded Medical Service Corps. After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Platt practiced optometry in the low vision clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and later in Danville, Va. In his day, he was an education proponent and avid reader, walker, classical music lover, and wordsmith. Graveside services will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, 2006 at Temple Emanuel cemetery in Roanoke, Va. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to Massachusetts College of Art Foundation, Inc., 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02115, Attn: Dorothy Jacobs Platt Fund for Art Education. Arrangements by Oakey's Roanoke Chapel 318 Church Ave, Roanoke, Va. 24016.