A Mass of Christian Burial for Bernard G. Helldorfer was offered on Thursday, Dec. 22, at Our Lady of Hope Church, Middle Village. He died Dec. 15 at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer.

A graduate of Christ the King H.S., Middle Village; St. John’s University, Jamaica, and St. John’s Law School, he was a professor and chairman of the Division of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies at St. John’s Law.

Following graduation from law school, he served as in-house counsel for Mobil Oil Corporation until 1983.

In 1983 he began teaching undergraduate law at St. John’s College of Professional Studies and served as the first chair of the Division of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies. He and his colleague Oscar Holt founded the Mock Trial Team as an academic activity for undergraduate students. In the 25 years of competition, the team made it to the National Finals 21 times, with its best finish as the No. 2 team in the USA in 2000.

He maintained a private practice of law in Maspeth, specializing in elder law, trusts and estates, and real property.

From 2002 to 2012, he was chairman of the Diocesan Review Board for sexual abuse allegations.

In 1996, due to the nomination of one of the members of the Mock Trial Team, he was chosen as one of the Torchbearers of the Olympic Flame.

He was a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus, a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and was given a papal honor of being made a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

A member of the board of trustees at Christ the King H.S., he was an active member Our Lady of Hope parish, participating as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, Pre Cana presenter, Holy Name Society member, trustee, counter and member of the Senior Goal Group.

He and his wife Linda were two of the original members of the Relay For Life of Middle Village of the American Cancer Society.

Immediate survivors include his wife, Linda; his mother, Lillian; and his sister, Susan Prince.