Bernie Juskiewicz

Juskiewicz was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Massachusetts.[7] He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the College of Emporia in Kansas.[7] In 1967, he married his wife, Suzan, with whom he had three children.[7]

Juskiewicz began his career at IBM by working in the accounting and management departments at a company facility in East Fishkill, New York.[7] In 1978, Juskiewicz and his family moved to Cambridge, Vermont, when was transferred to a new job at the IBM factory in Essex Junction.[7][9]

In 2012, Juskiewicz, was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives from open Lamoille-3 seat, centered in Cambridge, as a Republican. He won re-election in 2014 and 2016, but declined to seek re-election in 2018. He was initially assigned to the state House Education Committee before later becoming a member of the Appropriations Committee.[8]

Juskiewicz became a proponent of secondary education programs and a supporter of the University of Vermont during his tenure in the Vermont House.[8] He helped establish a recovery center in Johnson, Vermont, called Jenna's House.[8] Juskiewicz also advocated for funding for the USS Vermont, a United States Navy nuclear submarine. The new submarine was due to be commissioned in April 2020, but was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[8] He retired from the state House in January 2019 and was succeeded by Democrat Lucy Rogers.

Juskiewicz died from COVID-19 on April 8, 2020, at the age of 77.[8] Vermont Governor Phil Scott ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Juskiewicz's memory.[8]