Anita Clemens Bernard

Lewiston — Anita C. Bernard, 86, of 2784 Turner Road, Auburn, Maine, passed away peacefully after complications due to severe stroke, on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at Central Maine Medical Center, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born in Auburn, Maine, on July 29, 1939, at 23 Towle Avenue, the daughter of the late George Edwin Shaw Jr. and Alice Marie (Lalemand) Shaw. She attended Auburn schools and graduated from Edward Little High School, Class of 1957. Eleven years later, her brother, Bernard “Bernie” George Shaw, was born in 1950. As a child, Anita loved ice skating (especially the Olympics) and was a proud majorette.

On April 1959, at age 20, she married her true love, Donald Joseph Bernard of Lewiston (age 23). Together they built their home on Turner Road, where Anita lived for the remainder of her life. She took immense pride in her home, frequently changing the décor and decorating elaborately for every holiday, especially Christmas, when angels filled the house.

Anita was deeply devoted to her parents, visiting them nearly every day until her mother Alice passed in 1985 and her father George in 1989. She also shared a lifelong, close bond with her Aunt Rita Ray (d.2019) of Poland Springs, Maine, a relationship both women regarded as sisterhood.

Anita was exceptionally creative and industrious. She was skilled with a sewing machine, appliqué, and a hot glue gun, and she crafted imaginative, custom cakes for family celebrations. An avid gardener, she spent countless hours cultivating her yard, especially tending to her beloved pink hibiscus. With her husband’s help, she built a concrete outdoor fireplace, patios, walled flower gardens, and stone steps that remain standing today.

She loved hosting gatherings, planning holidays, and spending time with family. Summers often found her at the ocean: Small Point, Hermits Island, and Old Orchard Beach (OOB), or at local lakes such as Poland Spring, Range Pond, Taylor Pond, and Bear Pond. She also enjoyed traveling, including trips to the Bahamas, Aruba, St. Thomas, Cancun, and Oahu.

Anita enjoyed visiting casinos, particularly playing slot machines, where her disciplined approach often resulted in winnings that she happily spent on shopping.

She was the bookkeeper for Skin Diver’s Paradise, the family dive business she co-owned with her husband Don, remembered by many for its iconic yellow submarine along Route 4. Later, she worked at VectorSonics as a bookkeeper, Gammon Landscaping (plant goddess and sales), Lost Valley Ski Area (hospitality), Walmart (retail), and Mardins (retail).

Anita is survived by her husband of 65 years, Donald J. Bernard of Auburn; her sons Troy Donald Bernard of Auburn and Glenn George Bernard and his wife Julie of Melbourne, Florida; her brother Bernard “Bernie” Shaw and his wife Patricia of Thomaston, Maine; and her niece Kristine (Shaw) Brackesy, her husband Paul, and their daughter Liliane of Waltham, Massachusetts.

She was predeceased by her parents, George Edwin Shaw, Jr. (d. 1989) and Alice Marie (Lalemand) Shaw (d. 1985).

A Memorial Visitation will be held on Friday, February 27, from 4:00–6:00 PM, followed by Words of Remembrance at 6:00 PM, at The Fortin & Pinette Group in Lewiston, Maine. Arrangements are in the care of The Fortin & Pinette Group 305 Alfred A. Plourde Parkway in Lewiston, 784-4023. To share memories and condolences with the Bernard Family, please visit www.fortinpinettegrouplewiston.com .