Bernice Thomas

Bernice Thomas died February 7, 2014, of natural causes in a nursing home for those with Alzheimer's Disease in Toms River, New Jersey. Bernice was born in the small town of Dicks, Illinois on November 3, 1918, where she grew up as Bernice Hawkins, with one brother and two sisters--Neil, Chloe, and Edith--all of whom she has survived. Her family then moved to Kansas City in 1923 and lived at 33rd and Flora, where she attended Central High School and Linwood Presbyterian Church. Out of high school, she got a job as a secretary at Brotherhood Bank in Kansas City, Kansas. Then she met her future husband, “Tommy” Thomas, who graduated from Paseo High School. Soon after getting married, Tommy volunteered to fight in World War II, where he was stationed on a submarine in the Pacific. Tommy’s last job was as the superintendent of the VFW building on 33rd and Main Street, where he responded to a Christmas tree fire on an upper floor. His body was found in front of the elevator door on December 18, 1953. Bernice worked as a secretary in a bank and wonderfully raised three children. She married Maurice “Okie” Oelklaus in 1968. He later died in 1997. Bernice is survived by her three children: Donna Goodwin, who lives in Elmira, New York; Walker Thomas, who lives in Toms River, New Jersey; and Janet Murdock, who lives in Ventura, California. Bernice’s funeral will be held at the Mount Moriah Cemetery on 105th and Holmes in Kansas City. Her body was cremated in New Jersey, and her urn was driven to Kansas City by her son so her remains could be buried next to her husband. She was an incredibly loving mother, and she will be incredibly missed.