Dr. Bernard J. Goitein

Dr. Bernard J. Goitein, 75, Professor Emeritus, Bradley University, died at OSF St. Francis, Peoria, Illinois, after a brief illness, 2 August 2025. Dr. Goitein was born in Queens, New York City, 7 July 1950, the son of Dr. Lionel Goitein and his wife Rachael Hahn Goitein-Galperin. He attended New York schools, and after moving to Israel as a teenager with his mother and younger sister, he lived in Jerusalem and graduated from Hebrew University High School. Bernie remained in Israel after high school, attended Hebrew University and graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology. In 1975, after two wars and many adventures, Bernie returned to the United States, where he happily spent the rest of his life. Bernie was a proud graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned his PhD in psychology in 1981. While a PhD student, he studied organizational behavior and decision making and was an assistant study director at the university’s Institute for Social Research’s (ISR) Survey Research Center, where he worked on national Quality of Employment Surveys. The experience served him well. After graduation, Dr. Goitein accepted a position at Bradley University, where he taught business management and was director of Bradley’s Center for Business and Economic Research. For many years, his often-quoted Consumer Confidence surveys reliably measured the health of the central Illinois economy with economic indicators that accurately predicted fluctuations in metro-Peoria’s prosperity. Goitein is survived by his wife, Patricia (Ostler) Goitein, sons, Zachary Goitein, of Peoria, and Daniel (Sarah) Goitein of Barrington, IL., and daughter, Annie (James) Prince of Boise, Idaho; and five grandchildren: Isabelle and Olivia Goitein of Barrington, and Felix, Esther, and Samuel Prince of Boise, Idaho. He is also survived by his brother, Eli Goitein of Los Angeles, CA, and sisters, Estelle Goitein Halevi of Paris, France, and Meriam Goitein Haringman of Jerusalem, Israel. Bernie was devoted to his family and his community. His family was the center of his life. The Goiteins lived in Peoria’s West Bluff, on Columbia Terrace near Bradley, for 44 years. He served as president of the Uplands Residential Assoc., and was a longtime member of the West Bluff Council. He served on the Peoria Transportation Commission with a particular interest in alleviating West Bluff traffic issues. He supported numerous improvement projects that have improved the appearance and stability of the Uplands and the West Bluff, including the Western Avenue Greenway and the Uplands Boulevard Gardens. After the loss of the Uplands’ historic statue of Christopher Columbus, he vigorously advocated for an appropriate and significant replacement – which is now being designed and built by acclaimed Peoria sculptor Preston Jackson. Peoria, the West Bluff, and the Uplands have lost a good friend in Bernie, and his family has lost a beloved father, grandfather, and brother. There will be a private family memorial at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Bernie would ask that you practice Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and offer Tzedakah (charity/righteous giving).

Dr. Bernard J. Goitein

July 7, 1950 - August 2, 2025