Our world has lost a beautiful and loving lady. Our dearest and most beloved mother Bernice Young Gillespie passed away on Friday, March 12, 2021. She was born in El Paso, Texas on September 14, 1933 and lived a long and fulfilling life. She was a kind, strong and brave woman who lost her husband Joe in the Vietnam War and raised four young children on her own. She remained truly devoted to Joe and his memory. Bernice stood as a pillar of strength, love and compassion to her children and her grandchildren. Her kindness and compassion were forged as a young child growing up in El Paso where she developed a love of animals especially dogs and horses. Her family loving relates stories of a time when Bernice was about 3 or 4, she befriended the milk delivery man's horse and spent the morning riding alongside the man as he continued his deliveries just so she could be near the horse. No one knew where she was until the horse drawn wagon came back around. Bernice is survived by her sister Eddie Mae Cieszkiewicz and her children Jo Anne Gillespie Ortega (Roy), Raynold Brady Gillespie, Paul Bernard Gillespie (Leticia) and Stephanie Marie Gillespie, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
