Marie B. "Bernice" Phelps

Marie Bernarda “Bernice” Nagel Kerkhoff Phelps was born on March 30, 1916, on a dairy farm in Pierz, Minnesota. Her parents Mike and Helena (Block) Nagel, were German immigrants and she didn’t learn to speak English until she began school. She married Carl Kerkhoff in 1937 and became a mother to Darlene Kerkhoff Robbins in 1938. She later married John Phelps and became step-mother to Jack, Luella, Janet and Jane. During WWII she worked on electrical systems for B-25s at the Fairfax plant in Kansas City. Despite adversity such as the great Kansas City flood of 1951 that significantly impacted their livelihood, Bernice continued to demonstrate kindness and generosity to those around her. Her green thumb was legendary and she was even once featured in the Kansas City Star for her beautiful rose garden. She helped support her family and help her granddaughter pay for college with a cleaning business later in life before offering her services for childcare for her great-grandchildren once they began to arrive. She was also a wonderful cook whose lemon pies and Christmas fudge were highly anticipated by her grandchildren. She passed away peacefully on October 30, 2015, surrounded by loved ones at her bedside. She is preceded in death by her husband John G. Phelps, sisters Loretta Gross, Earnestine “Toots” Meyer, and brothers Ben, Walter, William, Raymond, Richard and infant Michael Nagel. She is survived by sister Helen LeBlanc Hamrick, daughter Darlene Robbins, grandchildren Charlene Leslie, Clay and Scott Robbins, Sherri Freuhling, and John Phelps, as well as many other grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren and is affectionately called “Granny” by the many other “grandchildren” she has touched during her long life. I can no longer see you with my eyes or touch you with my hands but your love will remain with us. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Salvation Army.