Born on January 25, 1954 to Celia (Williams) and Samuel Heap of Albion, Michigan, Cindy was the oldest of four children, the only sister to Edwin, James, and Allen Heap. She grew up in Michigan, with some of her fondest memories being of time spent on a dairy farm in Homer, MI owned by her maternal grandparents, Edwin and Doris Mae (Thomas) Williams, and summers spent in a cabin on the Lake Huron shore with her paternal grandparents, Earl and Bertha (Adams) Heap.
From an early age, she had a very close connection to God, praying and seeking answers to the questions in her heart. Her desire to understand more of God’s will led her to The Way ministry as a young adult. There she became part of the sixth Way Corps, growing in her spiritual understanding and serving the body of Christ in her unique and exceptional way. She single-handedly prepared and oversaw a full-time, year-round children’s program, teaching the youth to love God and His Word, while also instructing the parents and others in the principles of raising and nurturing children according to God’s Word. She directed a children’s choir for years; wrote, performed and recorded three children’s music albums; and taught generations of children to read and appreciate music, yet had limited formal training herself. Her songs and recordings continue to be well-loved and widely listened to today.
In 1975, during her first year in the sixth Corps, she met Greg Bernardini and they married in August of 1979. They have five children: Abraham (Alysia) Bernardini, Abigail (Matthew) King, Nathan Bernardini, Paul (Jenna) Bernardini, and Hannah Bernardini. The family spent time in Indiana, northern Illinois and the San Francisco Bay Area before settling in Belleville, IL where Greg and Cindy have lived the past 25+ years. They grounded their marriage and home life in God’s Word, hosting a home Bible fellowship most of their lives. Cindy continued to teach and model a godly way of life to not only her own children but to any and all children who came into her orbit. One hallmark of this work was her Scripture-based Children’s Camp which she designed and directed for almost 15 years, growing it from a modest day camp hosted at her home to a multi-day sleepover camp located at the DuBois Center in southern Illinois.
“Who can find a virtuous woman?” Proverbs 31 asks. “For her price is far above rubies.” Cindy exemplified the virtues listed in that Proverb. Greatly influenced by her farming roots and bolstered by her unparalleled work ethic, she accomplished most anything she put her mind to. Hosting, gardening, canning, baking, cooking, sewing, quilting, drawing, painting — she did it all with a quiet fierceness and an abundance of grace. For years she worked as a freelance preschool music teacher, running “Singing with Ms. Cindy” at local daycare centers. She was a reading tutor for elementary school children in her community and a mentor and confidante to countless family and friends.Those closest to Cindy often said she was the most capable and tenderhearted person they knew. Her influence and legacy is profound and far reaching.
One of her greatest joys in life was being a Mimi to her grandchildren, Benjamin and Anna (Abe & Alysia Bernardini), Genesis, Georgia and Bernadette (Matt & Abby King), and Sierra (Paul & Jenna Bernardini). She was joyfully anticipating the arrival of Nate’s first child with his partner Johanna Fischer, a little girl due in May 2022. Four of her grandkids had the opportunity to spend time at “Mimi’s Daycare” in her home while their parents worked. All of them benefitted from her instruction and love. Many a bedtime and every single Christmas was filled with their small voices singing her music with all of their hearts.
Cindy would encourage all who love and grieve her to “sorrow not” and to “comfort one another” with the promise that we will “meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. She believed to her core that God’s Word is true and that God’s promise of resurrection and eternal life will come to pass as He has said. While we wrestle with the sting of death for now, we hold fast to the hope of Christ’s return, that anchor of the soul, and know that in that coming day we will see her again.
Cindy was laid to rest in a private ceremony on April 18, 2022 at Lake View Memorial Gardens in Fairview Heights, Illinois. The family invites all who love Cindy to attend A Day of Remembering in her honor on Sunday, June 5, 2022 at 2:00 P.M. at Horner Park Hall, 1113 Widicus Road, Lebanon, IL 62254.
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