Bernardine Delores Ploch

Bernardine was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Richard Lawrence Ploch. She was also preceded in death by her parents, sisters, brothers, and in-laws; Mary, Rita and Adolph Marder, Marjorie and Roddy Wiley, Helen and Pete Petrisky, Danny Traynor, and Pat and Mary Traynor. Also preceding her is her grandson Jonathon Miskulin, son-in-law Rudy Perez, and grandson-in-law, Patrick Johnson. She is survived by her sister Kathleen Traynor and her daughters and sons-in-law, Mary Rose Ploch, Loretta and Marty Saunders, Geralyn and Joe Miskulin, Diane Perez, Bernadette and Hunter Stansbury, and Maureen and Tom King. Bernardine was also abundantly blessed with 15 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren with three more on the way by the end of the year.

Bernardine was born to be a mom. She and her husband, Dick, raised their girls with love and faith, laughter and dancing, learning and service – things she learned and received from her parents Adelaide and Daniel.

Bernardine was the first of her family, originally from Illinois, and having moved during the Great Depression, to be born in Dallas. She attended Holy Trinity Elementary School and was a spelling champion. She also attended and graduated from North Dallas High School, walking up and down Blackburn Ave to school while careful to avoid the “hobos,” about whom her mother had warned her, yet her mother fed them at her back door. She also worked at the local dime store after school and helped her mother at home. Her mother would send her and a sister to the rectory to serve meals or to help the sisters of the parish with any of their daily needs.

At 16 she went to work for an orthopedic office as a stenographer. She followed the doctors from patient to patient taking their dictation. She said for many of the medical terms she made up her own shorthand for it. For fun her daddy took her and a sister on the trolley to see the Dallas Rebels baseball team play across the river. Although she liked baseball, she loved her early Cowboys. Often she was on her knees in front of the TV yelling at Meredith, or Morton, Staubach and Aikman. She was a fan of Jason Witten and Drew Pearson and got to meet Witten at a tribute to him.

She was a fearless champion of her daughters at Christ the King School from 1962 through 1976. She worked at the school cafeteria as did other moms when duty called. She was a Girl Scout Leader that maintained a huge supply of cookies at her home as she was designated the Cookie Chair. She was in Mothers’ Club. She hauled her girls to piano, guitar, banjo, ballet, basketball practices and games and shows.

She was the mom that made dinner special. The family always ate together. She would have special nights where we had candlelight and new and delicious recipes she prepared. She was a great baker, too. Her grasshopper chocolate cups, pecan pie, and kolaches were eagerly awaited. The kolaches coming at the first fall rain when the weather turned crisp. We would start calling mom to find out if she had made them. Her baking skills were such a hit that she was called upon to make baskets of different kinds of Christmas cookies for her husband’s clients. She would have the older kids walk the littles up and down the street while she baked. We didn’t mind as we came home to such wonderful tastes and smells. She would then let us decorate sugar cookies just for us.

She made birthdays special for her girls and the grandkids. Favorite meals for her husband and girls with the good china and beautiful table décor. For her grandchildren, it was a special day with grandma starting with a sleepover. We were known to push out the furniture in the den and dance with Dad. Poor mom had to wait for him to dance with each of his daughters and then later with his granddaughters. That’s why we know she is now dancing with Dad all to herself.

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa’s house was a no miss event. Traditions were handed down from her’s and dad’s families which we continue Presents could be extravagant or they may be a simple as a photo of a young man with no arms and prosthetic legs playing golf as a lesson to always try no matter the circumstances of your life.

Her good heart had her taking care of the widow in the neighborhood, taking her to the grocery store or out to dinner. Her husband, Dick, would cut the grass and relight pilot lights. She delivered Meals on Wheels, rocked babies at the Brady Center, picked up bread at the grocery stores for delivery to the Union Gospel Mission.

You’ve heard that some people “never met a stranger” and that was Bernardine. She made friends with everyone she met. From restaurant waiting rooms, doctor waiting rooms, church, standing in line at Ross or Marshalls or TJ Maxx. She calmed a child at a store while her mother was checking out, taking her in her arms and cuddling her.

Bernardine was a woman of faith. When her children were young, they were taught to kneel and thank God for Baby Jesus before opening their presents. During Lent, after dinner dishes were washed, the family gathered around her and Dad’s bed to pray the rosary. We learned all the prayers through them. She made sure we never missed Mass no matter where we were in the world. She would pray her rosary nightly. In her later years she would comment she hoped she could finish without falling asleep. We told her not to worry her guardian angel would finish it for her if she did fall asleep. She took care of her

husband until he died showing us how to face suffering, hardship, care, support, and aching hearts.

Even though her memories started to fail her, she always knew her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She may not have remembered to which grandchild the great grandchildren belonged, but she would light up and beg to hold them and love on them. When her doctor recommended that she attend a Senior Day Care to make friends and have activities, as friendly as she was, she said she didn’t want to spend the day with a bunch of old people. She wanted to be with the young.

She was a beautiful woman inside and out. Every day she would ask if was going to rain that day. It may not be raining outside, but it is in our hearts.

We would like to thank her caregivers at Gentiva Hospice especially Jennifer, Brianna, and Maria.

In lieu of flowers please donate to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or The Well, 125 Sunset Avenue, Dallas, TX 75208.