Bernice Eleanor Catherine Jespersen

She was the last of her generation, and the keeper of a tremendous family legacy that valued faith, family, hard work, and an excellent joke. The family of Bernice Eleanor Catherine Jespersen (nee Dreger) is sad to announce her passing -- but overjoyed to celebrate her life, which was lived with an unfussy simplicity and commitment to celebrating and enjoying the rhythm of each day that makes up a life.

Bernice was born February 20, 1930, the fourth child to parents Rudolf and Emma Dreger. Along with her siblings Allan, Clement, Norman, and Margaret, Bernice was raised on a farm in Strathcona County in Edmonton. Bernice married Ralph Jespersen on June 26, 1951, and their marriage lasted 65 years until Ralph's passing in 2016. Ralph and Bernice farmed Glory View Farms outside of Stony Plain, Alberta from 1951 until 1980 (it remains a Jespersen family operation to this day), and there they raised their three children Darrell (Karen), Debra (Clark), and Delnita (Darcy).

Ralph and Bernice were compelled by the duties of faith, work, family, and community. In those years, Bernice put up multiple hot meals daily for her family and the hired help on the farm, tended a bountiful garden, and presided over everything with the crisp German efficiency that was a defining trait. She also opened her home to many, and her hospitality and ability to turn every single leftover into a brand new meal was passed down through generations.

But it was as a grandparent that Bernice truly excelled, surrounded by her nine grandchildren and, eventually, 32 great grandchildren. To be Bernice's grandkid was to be loved by her, to be admonished by her, to eat her many iterations of leftovers, to drink pink milk in the mornings after sleepovers, and to work -- hard -- to make her laugh. And what a laugh. Bernice developed her own German-English slang. If you act out, you're being a "dupse." Or a "bengel." But always, she reminded you, "Ich liebe dich."

To be in Bernice's orbit was also, crucially, to be prayed for by her. Bernice considered her true vocation to be in prayerful service to her family and her community, and her simple, big-hearted faith sustained her throughout her life. But it also sustained a legion of others. Many, many people felt the impact of her thoughtful care, and you knew when Bernice said "I prayed for you today," that she was also saying "Ich liebe dich."

This was a fabulous woman. She will be so missed and it feels almost inconceivable that we should go on without her quiet presence. But she left her family with so much: an appreciation for crinkly laugh lines around the eyes; a love of an excellent joke; an acknowledgement that the simple things in life are actually life itself; and a deep, deep love for family, whom we hold a little closer today.

A celebration of Bernice’s life will be announced at a later date.