Bernard Spitz dies; civil engineer from Queens who designed nuclear plants was 82

Bernard Spitz was always the smartest guy in the room.

That's how family members remember the longtime civil engineer who designed nuclear power plants and finished The New York Times crossword puzzle every day for decades, often in pen.

Spitz, of Far Rockaway, Queens, died Nov. 10 at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre of skin cancer complications. He was 82.

Born in East New York, Brooklyn, he went to Brooklyn Technical High School and graduated from City College of New York.

At the college, he met his future wife, Joanne. After they wed in 1955, he served about four years in the Army, earning a second lieutenant's rank, the family said.

Serving his country was important to him, said his son, Jonathan Spitz, 51, of Rye. Despite being raised by poor immigrants from Poland and Hungary, his father lived the American dream, Jonathan Spitz said.

Spitz also was proud of his Jewish identity, settling down in the Jewish enclave of Bayswater in Far Rockaway, where he remained active in the local synagogue until his death.

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"He was really into America and American history," Jonathan Spitz said, as well as "this idea of being Jewish in America and being able to build a Jewish community and do that with freedom in America, which you couldn't do for so long in Europe."

The couple and their four children enjoyed taking family road trips, including visits to such historic sites as Monticello, Mount Rushmore and Colonial Williamsburg.

"Every July Fourth, he would sit us down and make us listen to the Declaration of Independence before we could go out and watch the fireworks," Jonathan Spitz recalled in his eulogy.

During his career as a civil engineer, Bernard Spitz joined the design team for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami led to meltdowns there, Spitz took it personally, his son said.

"He did a lot of soul-searching and looked at how it happened, and where and what the failures were," Jonathan Spitz said. "He said, 'We designed it to withstand a very strong earthquake, but we weren't asked to design it to withstand a large tsunami.' "

In his career with EBASCO, a major construction and engineering firm, Spitz also designed dams, bridges and power plants, his son said.

After retiring in 1995, Spitz devoted himself to his synagogue and eight grandchildren, traveling across the country to spend time with them.

Besides his son and wife, survivors include a daughter, Amanda Moonitz of Tampa, Florida; and sons Mitchell Spitz of La Cañada Flintridge, California, and Glenn Spitz of Boulder, Colorado. A chapel service was held Nov. 12, and burial followed at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon.