Bernd Dather

Brend Dather-Pommerenke was born on December 20, 1943 in Heidenheimer, Germany to parents Rudolf and Mary (Pommerenke) Dather. He passed away at the age of 74 at his Plano residence with his family by his side.

He grew up in Germany and by the young age of 14, he had dreams of coming to America. The only way to make this possible was for his Aunt and Uncle, Hilde and Nathan Dather, to adopt him. It was a difficult choice to leave his younger brother Erich Pommerenke, and his biological parents behind. Upon arriving in the U.S., along with his adopted sister Rita Dather, they started their new life in the United States. He attended Waynesville High School in Missouri. Even though he struggled with the new language, he soon made new friends through the universal language of soccer.

After graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Army. After basic training, he was lucky enough to be stationed in Germany where his younger brother introduced him to the love of his life, Renate. They married in 1965 and had two children the M & M's, Mike and Mark. In 1966, he received orders to return to the United States to be stationed at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. He received an honorable military discharge and was hired by Texas Instruments in 1969. In 1976 Texas Instruments offered him a job opportunity in Germany which he gladly accepted. This allowed him to show his children their family heritage. It made him happy that his children could build a relationship with their relatives. The tour lasted for 6 years; they then relocated to Plano, Texas. He was honored to receive a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering with a Major in Telecommunications from The University of Texas at Dallas compliments of Texas Instruments.

In 1995, he was hired by Fujitsu as an electrical hardware engineer. He loved his job so much that he semi-retired in 2012, but he kept working as a contractor. He finally retired from Fujitsu at the age of 70. His hobbies included: model railroads, remodeling, soccer, and water skiing. He loved boating, road trips, traveling, and listening to music of any kind, but he only read technical books. He said, "Any other book was a waste of time."
He battled pulmonary fibrosis for 3 years with never smoking a single cigarette in his entire life, but he still managed both a trip to Germany in 2016 and major remodeling projects to the house. During his last year, while confined to his home, he enjoyed visits from his dear friends and family. Family life was very important to him, and he spent a lot of time each week with his sons, Mark and Mike, and wife, Renee. He also enjoyed his daughter-in-law Renee, sister, Teresa, and nephew Logan who became his unofficially adopted child.

Bernd is survived by his loving wife Renate Dather who was born in Giengen Germany, sons Mike Dather born in Germany and his wife Renee,  Mark Dather born Dallas Texas, brother Erich Pommerenke born in Germany, sister Rita Dather born in Germany, half-sister Irmgard Kemmner.
A memorial service to honor and celebrate Bernd’s life will be held Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 11:00 A.M. at Hunter’s Glen Baptist Church, 4001 Custer Rd., Plano, Texas 75023 with Pastor Jim Mustain officiating. Bernd will be laid to rest and receive military honors at 2:15 P.M. at the Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, Texas.

"God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be.  So He put His arms around you and whispered, "Come With Me."  With tearful eyes we watched you slowly fade away.  Although we loved you dearly, we would not make you stay.  A golden heart stopped beating, your hard-working hands put to rest, God broke our hearts to prove to us He only takes the best.

"Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free."