Bernhard Krevet Remembering a Dedicated Champion of the Friends of the Napa River

By Craig Smith

Years ago, I was asked to write an article for Napa Valley Marketplace Magazine about the history of the Friends of the Napa River (FONR), the group which formed and led Napa’s incredibly successful flood control effort. I contacted Bernhard Krevet, the current and only the second president to lead the Friends, to ask for an interview.

Bernhard joined the Friends in 1997 almost as soon as he and his wife Ursula moved to Napa. He didn’t just “join” FONR, from the beginning he was a leader. Although the flood control design work was pretty much complete, getting the two-thirds voters’ approval to pass the initiative was going to take work. Bernhard rolled up his sleeves, and after passage, didn’t stop working for over twenty years, championing river and watershed issues to make sure the community’s best interests were heard. Sadly, he passed away in late September last year.

Bernhard agreed to that Marketplace interview, but insisted that I include Moira Johnston Block, who is regarded as the founder of the FONR. She was known as a formidable leader and a persuasive, outspoken speaker who helped both flood control opponents as well as government officials believe in and adopt the program. Moira had a deep and genuine joy for life, was always a pleasure to talk to, and I agreed to include her in the interview. Still, I was apprehensive – Moira was navigating dementia, and I worried how our talk would go. Bernhard sloughed off my concerns, said he would be present during the interview and assured me that it would go well.

I faced Moira and Bernhard sat behind me and mostly just listened. Throughout, Moira was a bit lost at times about some facts, the people involved or the sequence of events. When that happened, her brow would furrow and she would look past me to Bernhard. He never corrected her but smiled, as he would gently remind her of the information she couldn’t quite retrieve. Each time, I was amazed at the kind and soft way he supported her with love and encouragement, and each time she regained her composure as a result of his tender guidance.

I can’t remember much of what we talked about that day, or frankly, the article that came out of it. What struck me at the time and has stuck with me all these years was the loving way I watched Bernhard help his friend. It was an act of calm compassion and a true display of friendship. Bernhard taught me a lot that day, and that wasn’t even the point.

Bernard was born in southern Germany in an area that is now part of Poland. He went to work for IBM in Stuttgart, Germany and met Ursula Ehret, who also worked there. Bernhard was on the tech side of things, but his bosses were impressed with his ability to convey complex concepts to co-workers, and he was promoted to do just that. He and Ursula married in 1964, and the couple was transferred to New York. Bernhard’s career was on the rise, and the family relocated a lot, with two stints in Germany, one Dallas and a few others places, and eventually Cupertino. By then, the Krevets had two sons and a daughter. The family wanted to settle in the area and searched from Monterey, throughout the East Bay and towards Sacramento before deciding to buy in Napa. They moved to the Yacht Club. Bernhard almost immediately bought a boat and joined the Friends of the Napa River.

“Bernhard was smart and detail oriented,” said Chuck Shinnamon, the current president of FONR. Bernhard wasn’t afraid to push people to take action that would benefit the river, but he was always a gentleman about it. “He was a smile with a backbone,” Chuck added.

“I was in countless presentations by Bernhard,” said former County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht, who himself was active with flood control and other river related initiatives. “He was always prepared to speak, and he always did it right. At times over the years, he had to deliver critical, even disagreeable news, but he never did it disagreeably. He set a high bar for community environmental presentations. His stature will be missed.”

Chip Bouril, a FONR Advisory board member who served on the Flood Control Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), said “I recall that Bernhard attended almost every TAP meeting, usually as the sole representative of ‘the public.’ His input was always charmingly polite and constructive; he was to me an appreciated fixture of the TAP meetings.”

Ursula said Bernhard was always working on FONR business, which sometimes drove her crazy. “We enjoyed watching NCIS together, but I knew as soon as it was over, he’d go upstairs and start working.” The 2014 earthquake was the night before the FONR’s annual River Festival. Ursula said as soon as it was obvious that despite things being strewn everywhere their house was okay, Bernhard left for downtown to see how things looked there. She describes him as a very happy man. “He was always teaching people. I loved him, and he loved people.”

Longtime community leader Dorothy Salmon worked with Bernhard for 20 years, and said of him, “Bernhard’s dedication as the Friends of the Napa River’s voice and force for leadership, non-stop advocacy and passion, was his life. He will be missed forever and always remembered as one of Napa’s heroes.”