Married couple enjoying early retirement in Surfside died in condo collapse

Bonnie and David Epstein found a second home in South Florida, where they could live out their passion for water sports and enjoy their early retirement from the real estate investing business.

A few years ago they moved into an oceanfront condominium tower in Surfside, said Richard Oller, a friend and business partner of David’s for 30 years.

The snowbirds were obsessed with the water, Oller wrote in a Facebook post on June 25.

And they were planning a trip up north very soon to see their only son, Jonathan, 26, who lives in Brooklyn, according to Oller.

Bonnie’s body was recovered from the ruins of Champlain Towers South on June 30. She was 56.

David Epstein, 58, was found July 2 and identified Sunday by Miami-Dade police.

The Epsteins were on the ninth floor when the building collapsed at about 1:30 a.m. June 24, according to WPLG Local 10. They lived in unit 901 with their dog, Chase, The Associated Press reported.

Jonathan Epstein called the time he spent waiting for word about his parents an “impossible week.”

“My parents were really the best and it’s been so comforting to relive the joy of their lives through the testimony of friends and loved ones,” Jonathan posted Saturday on Facebook. “Mom and Dad, I love you both so much and I’m so so proud to be your son,” he wrote.

Oller said he had spoken with David two days before the collapse. They talked about business, but David noted he loved having retired with Bonnie. The couple had completed a long career in real estate investing, according to Chabad.org.

A few weeks ago, Oller wrote, the Epsteins were ready to drive up to see their son. “But the dog wasn’t feeling so well so they waited,” Oller wrote.

Jay Miller, a Surfside resident, told The Washington Post that he ran into the Epsteins earlier in June, days before he left for his annual trip to Philadelphia.

“They always left before me,” Miller said. “They never stayed longer than I did.”

Bonnie told him David had an arm injury and was still undergoing physical therapy. So they waited to leave for New York.

The Epstein family was very small, said Bonnie’s cousin Joey Feldman, the AP reported.

“Bonnie was like my sister growing up,” said Feldman, who lives in Los Angeles. “She took me to my first concert.”

“She was my person,” Gail Karabell, Bonnie’s cousin, told WTVJ-NBC6. “We always got each other. We laughed, we cried. We knew everything about each other.”

Karabell noted the strong bond the son always had with his parents.

“He said he’s really proud he had amazing parents,” Karabell said. “They had an amazing relationship and there was nothing left unsaid.”

Karabell expressed her grief and her intention to look after Jonathan.

“I promise you I will watch over Jonathan and always be there for him,” she posted on her Facebook page. “I loved you, cuz, life will never be the same.”

Oller wrote, “Through my deep sadness, my only comfort is knowing that on Wednesday, David was the happiest man I know, and he and Bonnie are still together. Perhaps that’s a lesson I can learn from my former intern, partner and dear friend. Perhaps it’s a lesson we can all learn.”

Here are the names and stories of the missing and dead in Surfside condo collapse