Bernadette Clarke Grant

Dr. Bernadette Grant was a woman ahead of her time. She was independent, educated, sophisticated, witty, and a successful business owner. She was also loving, caring, very social, a good friend, and extremely fun to be around. An extrovert who loved life and travel.

Bernadette was born on the south side of Chicago,IL in 1947. After graduating from Northern Illinois University with an undergraduate degree in psychology, she began her migration south. She attended Mississippi State University where she completed her doctorate in Philosophy, with a minor in sociology, graduating in 1983. She had tenures teaching at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, Troy University in Troy, Alabama, and The University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. Most of her career was not in academia but with Grant and Associates which she developed in 1988 specializing in Litigation Research and Jury Selection. Bernadette was President and CEO from inception until she retired in 2017.

She was an accomplished trial and jury consultant as well as a valuable member of the professional association, ASTC. Even her professional colleagues refer to Bernadette as a "loyal dear friend, whose laugh, good humor and good deeds will always be remembered."

There was no shortage of social involvement in her life. She was an active member in one of the Mobile Mystic Societies where she served on many committees. She was always open for a theater production or concert anywhere on the coast and every Saturday during Football season you would always find her at a University of Alabama football party. All it took to get her interested in travel was the word "GO". Anywhere in the world, anytime, and she was in.

True to her nature, Bernadette spent her last day at an extended brunch with friends and later dinner with a large family gathering. She went home to bed and passed away quietly on Saturday, November 23, 2024. She is preceded in death by her parents James Martin Clarke and Josephine Clark(Nee Karieva). Other family members: James J. and Josephine (Gaffney) Clarke, Joe and Joan (Clarke) Friesenhahn, and John Clarke. She is also survived by Thomas and Marianne (Barton) Clarke, Jim and Patricia (Clarke) Gira, and numerous nieces, nephews and God Children.

There will be a brief prayer on the steps of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, AL on January 19, 2025, at 4pm, followed by a celebration of her life at the Carnival Museum at 4:30pm. Another celebration will be held in Chicago, IL at a later date.