Bernard Joseph Fisken
August 31, 1938 ~ November 16, 2024
Born in:
Boston, MA
Resided in:
Alexandria, VA
In loving memory of Bernard Joseph Fisken, who died November 16, 2024, of a stroke he suffered
on October 27th. Bernie was born on August 31, 1938 in Boston, MA. He was the son of Harry
David Fisken and Ruth Zippin Fisken, both immigrated from the Ukraine and Belarus, respectively
after the end of the Russian Revolution. Bernie was very proud of being a first-generation US
citizen who lived the American Dream. At age 5 or 6 he began selling newspapers at Boston
Common along with his three brothers. They pooled their earnings to help with their family’s
living expenses. Occasionally he would take 25 cents to go the Fenway Park, the ballpark where
Bernie became a life-long Boston Red Sox fan.
Bernie graduated from Boston Latin School on 1956, but with no real idea of what he wanted to
study next, he joined the US Army and became a Military Policeman, living in Georgia and
Kentucky. Upon serving his country, Bernie returned to Boston and worked during the day and
put himself through Bentley College at night, majoring in accounting. After five years he
graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bentley. After working a few years, Bernie joined the US
Peace Corps and worked with a banished Inca tribe, the Salasaca in Ambato, Ecuador, South
America. In 1966 he returned to the US and was awarded a full scholarship to attend Wharton
Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his Wharton “practicum” in East
Palo Alto, CA where he worked as the finance officer in an OEO Health Center. It is here that
Bernie met and married Kathleen Jane Curtis, and they moved to Managua, Nicaragua and then
on to La Paz, Bolivia. Bernie worked in the Treasury Departments of both countries, restructuring
the Municipal Taxation system in Nicaragua, and then restructuring the national accounting
systems in Bolivia.
Upon his return from Bolivia, Bernie taught at the University of Redlands, Johnston College and
then he, his wife and son, Nik, moved to Washington, DC in 1972, and a year later his second son,
Alex, was born. In 1979, Bernie founded Fisken & Company, a firm that specialized in financial
consulting and taxation. He and his wife worked alongside each other for decades and then in
2000, Fisken & Company merged with Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman, CPA’s. Because Fisken
& Company specialized in international consulting, Bernie traveled to the far parts of the world.
He worked mainly with NGO’s and with host country governments of: Pakistan, Australia,
Afghanistan, Egypt, Fiji, Kenya, South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Tonga (in the
South Pacific), Nicaragua, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, and many more.
Bernie loved languages and had a working knowledge of at least seven. He loved to test his
vocabulary on anyone who would listen to him. And, there was not anything in life he loved more
than his family, and if he loved you, you knew it.
Bernie is survived by the love of his life, Kathleen (Katie), and two sons, Nik (Leslie Plowman)
and Alex (Meg Giles) and five grandchildren: Natalie Margaret of New York City, Isabella Sophia
of Montreal, QC; Cooper Emsley, of Greenville, SC; Ava Mirabel, of Richmond, VA; and Allison
Kathleen, of Santa Barbara, CA; his brothers’ stepson, the Honorable William F. McSweeny III
(Joanne) of Watertown, MA, and stepdaughter, Kathy Mc Sweeny of Northern Virginia, and his
niece, Amy Fisken Beyea of Naples, Florida.
A Memorial Celebration is planned for next spring.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in Bernie’s memory be directed to:
Partners In Health, www.pih.org and Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org
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Bernie was a fascinating man, with an indescribable background. I never tired of listening to Bernie. He had a kind smile as he recounted his amazing experiences. His stories and his life live on in Nik and Alex. Katie has been a great companion, a soul mate. God bless and keep Katie.