To Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, his father, Bernie, will always be "the real BP."
"He never met a stranger," Pearl said. "My little personality is nothing compared to the real BP."
Bernie Pearl passed away Wednesday after a brief illness at the age of 88. Bruce and his wife, Brandy, his sister, Lauren, and the Pearl family will honor its patriarch at a memorial service Sunday at noon ET at Schlossberg Family's Chapel on the Hill in Canton, Massachusetts, with burial to follow at Sharon Memorial Park.
Married for 66 years to his wife, Barbara, Bernie Pearl modeled a work ethic that would lead his son to become one of college basketball's winningest coaches.
"A really good person," Pearl said. "Loved his family first, loved his country, was a really hard worker. My dad worked six days a week his entire career to make sure the family had everything we needed."
Bernie Pearl was 10 years old in 1945 when World War II ended and the full extent of the Holocaust's horrors was discovered.
"He loved his Jewish heritage," Pearl said. "It broke his heart knowing what happened in the Holocaust; it scarred my dad forever, having lost family. He wore it on his sleeve like he had a number carved on his forearm."
Bruce Pearl grew up in a home that cheered passionately for New England's teams: the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins.
"Daddy was a huge Boston sports fan," Pearl said. "Anything Boston. Born and raised there, went to Northeastern University. He loved Boston and hated all the New York teams."
Despite that lifelong allegiance, one of Bernie Pearl's last requests to his son involved a sports team located 1,200 miles from Boston.
"He asked, 'Do you think the people in Auburn would mind if I got buried in an Auburn jersey even though I didn't go to school there?'" Bruce Pearl said.
"He was a loyal guy. He was grateful to Auburn for giving our whole family the opportunity to lead this basketball program. He watched or listened to every single game."
To Bernie Pearl's grandchildren, including asscoiate head coach Steven Pearl, their grandfather was their beloved "Pop."
If "one of a kind" was in the dictionary the definition would read "Bernie Pearl," Steven Pearl said. "My Pop was truly that and some. I've never known someone who enjoyed conversation with friends, family and complete strangers as much as he did, and that's why he made such a profound impact on every person he came across.
"Every one who has reached out to me with their condolences has had a unique story about him and their relationship which speaks to the man he was. Growing up I was so blessed to be able to spend so much time with him and I'm going to miss him dearly."
The bond between father and son never lessened.
"I spoke to my dad every single day for the last four or five years of his life," Bruce Pearl said. "He was my best friend and he was my biggest fan, unabashedly."
