Bernice F. Rayos

Born in Minersville, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 2, 1928, she was the daughter of a coal miner and a factory seamstress of Polish Catholic descent. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. John’s University in New York, the start of her rewarding career as a Registered Nurse that spanned 40 years.

As a nurse at French Hospital in New York, she met a resident physician who would change her life forever. Bernice married Dr. Blas O. Rayos Jr. in 1958 and they traveled around the globe before settling in the Philippines and later moving to New Jersey, California and England. She came to Brevard County in 1980. A devout and prayerful Catholic, she has been a member of Holy Name of Jesus Church, Indialantic, for 30 years. She was a dedicated mother to her five daughters and two sons, sharing with them her passion for the faith and a belief that education was important. Her hobbies ranged from reading to cooking, gardening to painting, puzzles to board games.

She is survived by, and will be dearly missed by, her husband, Blas, Indialantic; two sons Joseph, Chevy Chase, Md.; and Richard, Seattle, Wash.; four daughters Patricia, Gainesville, Fla.; Kandace, Los Angeles; Gail Rayos Burbank and her husband Joe of Maitland, Fla.; Carol Rayos Davis and her husband Dan of Melbourne Beach, Fla.; and her four grandchildren Sarah and Anna Burbank, John and Kathleen Davis. She is preceded in death by her first daughter, Mary.

Visitation is scheduled at Fountainhead Funeral Home in Palm Bay on Thursday, March 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Name of Jesus Church, Indialantic, at 2 p.m. Friday, March 15, followed by a burial service at Fountainhead Memorial Park in Palm Bay. A reception to celebrate Bernice’s life will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church Services and Outreach Ministry.