Bardyl R. Tirana ’59

We lost one of our most engaging classmates with the passing of Bardyl April 22, 2023.

He was born in Switzerland, and at the outbreak of World War II his family fled to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C. Bardyl enrolled at Andover on scholarship, then to Princeton, where he played varsity squash and took meals at Campus Club, but not for long. Bardyl had an affinity for cards, and by junior year had found his way into the Cottage Club poker game. The players ate dinner at Cottage, then played poker for several hours. Eating at Cottage, Bardyl decided he needn’t belong to Campus. His earnings footed a Cape Cod cottage each summer for his mother.

Earning his law degree at Columbia, then serving in the U.S. Justice Department, Bardyl worked for Robert F. Kennedy through his Senate and presidential campaigns and for George McGovern upon RFK’s assassination; made a successful run for a seat on the D.C. school board; represented Executive Jet Aviation, whose board included Curtis LeMay, Arthur Godfrey, and Jimmy Stewart ’32; expedited the purchase and sale of jets from the Israelis to the Afghans; and co-chaired Jimmy Carter’s inauguration. He fostered the creation of FEMA; recruited students to Andover from the People’s Republic of China; returned to the practice of law; and finished out his life as village justice for Grand View-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Bardyl is survived by his second wife, Anne Bell; daughters Kyra and Amina ’89; stepsons Jonathan, David, and Andrew Bell; several grandchildren; and his brother Turhan ’57.