Just 10 days after his death, beloved son, uncle and educator Geoff Bernardi became the savior of several lives through organ donation.
“That’s the silver lining in all this tragedy,” said Erin Adams, Bernardi’s mother.
Adams said she led Honor through the halls of Community Regional Medical Center as surgeons prepared to salvage her son’s organs.
“I wanted to go with him before the party, but it was really hard to do because he was beaten so badly. When they got to the operating room where they were going to harvest the organs, that was the last time I saw him. It was heartbreaking,” Adams said.
Bernardi, a well-known Clovis educator, was violently attacked by a stranger outside his apartment building on December 18, police said.
His girlfriend, the only witness, described the attacker wearing only a black down jacket and hoodie. Bernardi died of his injuries on December 20.
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Clovis police said they are still working to find the suspect.
“When there’s a homicide in Clovis, because we don’t have a lot of homicides every year, everybody pulls together. It always is. All of our detectives have been following the homicide seven days a week since it happened,” said Clovis police spokesman Ty Wood.
Adams said Tuesday she hopes to be arrested soon, but even that won’t fill the void left by her son’s death.
“I shouldn’t have my 37-year-old son cremated. It’s wrong. It’s so backwards,” she said.
Bernardi’s organs have been donated and accepted by patients, including an 8-year-old girl and a 21-year-old man.
Photos shared by the family show Bernardi as he really was – a family man who loved spending time with his nieces and dedicated his life to youth.
Adams hopes her son’s love will continue through those who receive his organs.
“Some people think they inherited traits from the organ donor, and I hope they did get some traits from him because he had great traits,” Adams said.
She shared her final words to her son as she said goodbye.
“I love you, I miss you, and I wish I could be with him one more time,” Adams said.
Geoff Bernardi’s family has set up a GoFundMe page for anyone who wants to help with his funeral arrangements.
