Sheldon Forrest Bernau, the son of John Justin "Jack" Bernau and Claudia Ann (Wolter) Bernau, was born on May 2, 1970, in Burlington, WI. At the age of 52, he passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

Sheldon is preceded in death by his father, Jack Bernau, and his mother-in-law, Diane Norris.

He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and his children, Diana Joy and Benjamin Forrest, all of Pensacola, FL; his mother, Claudia Bernau, of Houston, MO; sister, Rosie (Scott) Bumgardner, of Groveport, OH; sister, Cynthia (Mark) Walker, of Terre Haute, IN; father-in-law, Jerry Norris, of Pensacola, FL; brother-in- law, Mark Norris, of Pensacola, FL; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Sheldon accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior at the age of five and began playing the piano for church at the age of eleven. He graduated from Pensacola Christian College (B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration – 1992) and the University of West Florida (Master of Accountancy – 2004). An internship with Merrill Lynch during his senior year of college launched his interest and career in financial advising, business development, tax preparation, wealth management, and estate planning. Sheldon was a proud team member with Merrill Lynch; the Bank of Pensacola/Coastal Bank and Trust; O'Sullivan Creel/Warren Averett; Saltmarsh, Cleaveland and Gund; and since 2011, the Synovus Trust Company.  He enjoyed serving his clients and representing Synovus Trust throughout the entire panhandle region from Mobile, AL to Tallahassee, FL. He was a member of numerous professional organizations and served on many civic boards. Sheldon was an active member of First Baptist Church Pensacola. He was a dedicated assistant basketball coach for Florida Dream, an AAU basketball team. Sheldon cultivated educational and athletic opportunities as a way of encouraging his children, their friends, and young athletes to pursue moral excellence both on and off the court. He was a student of the Bible and continued sharing his testimony through Scripture in his final days.

The family extends grateful appreciation to Dr. Shaelish Patel and Woodlands Medical Specialists; Dr. Xin Wei and HCA Florida West Hospital; Dr. Edward Tinker and Ascension Sacred Heart; Dr. Eric Jonasch and MD Anderson Cancer Center; and the exceptional nurses of Vitas Healthcare.

Visitation will be held 9:30am until Sheldon's celebration of life service at 10:30am Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at First Baptist Church Pensacola (500 N. Palafox St.) with Dr. Dave Snyder and Dr. Barry Howard officiating. Private family interment will follow at Bayview Memorial Park (3351 Scenic Highway).

Active Pallbearers will be, Jason Belcher, Shawn Goad, Michael Hardin, Michael Hatsfelt, David Howell, Brad Seaver, Leon Siegler, and Joe Smith.

In lieu of flowers, Sheldon would be honored if you considered contributing to the following:

1. First Baptist Church Pensacola (fbcp.org), 2. Jack Parker Scholarship (c/o Synovus Trust Company, 125 W. Romana St, Suite 400, Pensacola, FL 32502), 3. IMPACT100 Pensacola Bay Area (impact100pensacola.org), or 4. Pilots for Christ (pilotsforchrist.net).

To God be the glory, great things He has done!