Overlooking her beloved backyard filled with oak trees, bird and squirrel feeders, Bernice Hornung passed away amongst her family on June 26, two days past her 90th birthday.

Bernice leaves the legacy of her four children: daughter Susan and her husband, Richard Widdop; son Scott and his wife, Jill; daughter Sandy and her husband, Randy Hunt; and son Skyler and his wife, Jan; as well as five grandchildren: Sarah Widdop and her partner, Jarred Jackman; Molly Widdop, Amy Hornung, Jayme Hunt and Mallory Hunt.

Still surviving, among her extended family in Iowa, is her older sister, Irene, and her baby brother, Bud.

Bernice was born in our country’s heartland — Westside, Iowa — on June 24, 1925 to George and Emma Isaacs.

Emma died when Bernice was a toddler. Emma’s death left her four children — Pearl, Irene, Bernice and Bud — without a stable home since their father was a laborer on the railroads. These children of the Depression went to live with their Aunt Annie and Uncle Hannes Herrmann in Westside, but Bernice spent many carefree summers on her cousin Annie’s nearby family farm.

After graduating from Ar-We-Va Community High School, Bernice followed in the steps of a girlfriend and took the train to Washington D.C. to work as a clerk in the War Department.

In 1943, at a dance hall, Bernice met a sailor who couldn’t dance — Clifford A. Hornung. They were married December 24, 1945, at Luther Memorial Church in Omaha, Neb. with only her sister, Pearl, beside her because Clifford was a lovesick sailor and there was a three-day waiting period in Iowa.

For 61 years, Bernice and Clifford endured hardships and happiness together. In 2006, Clifford passed away.

Bernice was a mother and navy wife. The family lived in Oakland, Calif., where Susan and Scott were born; San Diego, where Cliff tried to make Bernice a farmer with cows Homer and Buttercup; Millington, Tenn., where Scott almost killed Bernice by shooting an arrow into the sky; Jacksonville, Fla., with lots of lightning and snakes; Oak Harbor, where Sandy was born; Port Hueneme, Calif., where Bernice threw away Scott’s autographed photo of Superman because she thought he was a bad role model; and, finally, in 1961 back to Oak Harbor, where Skyler was born.

In 1963 Cliff and Bernice bought their home on 500 Ave E — a home with a big backyard full of oak trees.

Like many military families today, Bernice dutifully fulfilled her role as a single parent dealing with isolation and responsibilities while Clifford was away on deployments. Bernice became an active parent with the Boy Scouts, helping 12-year-old Scott with the camping supplies of the White Buffalo Patrol. Later, she served as cookie manager for the Oak Harbor Girl Scout Neighborhood and helped daughter Sandy count and record stacks of boxes of Girl Scout cookies stored in the basement.

As her children grew older, she went to work for family friends Blaine and Vivian Jenkins at the first Radio Shack in Oak Harbor. Their son, Jerry Jenkins said, “Bernice was the glue that held Radio Shack together in those years.”

With her children grown, Bernice also joined the Peacemakers Bowling Team where she achieved numerous awards.

From 1961 to 2011, Bernice devoted herself to Concordia Lutheran Church. Bernice was a charter member of Concordia Lutheran Church, when services were held in a classroom of the Christian School. The sentiment Bernice lived by was “We are a mission church.” Bernice became a grounded fixture at Concordia Lutheran where she cleaned, gardened, set up communion and washed cups, set up the altar and cared for the linens, worked in the kitchen after services, worked the church bazaars making soup and serving numerous fundraising meals for missions. Bernice’s dedication to her faith and community led her to become an active member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, where she tied and shipped quilts and gathered supplies for health and school kits for Lutheran World Relief. Bernice also acted as bookkeeper for Little Lambs Pre-School and baked cookies for prisoners. And, for three of her later years, as part of the church’s social ministry, she served Oak Harbor’s struggling and homeless community, mostly at night.

Bernice’s lifelong commitment to lovingly serve her family, church and community is the valuable legacy she bestows on all of us.

Our family would like to thank the Careage staff for the years of friendship and care extended to Bernice. We would also like to thank Bernice’s caregivers for her last 10 months while she was back in her home — Debby, Rebecca, Kimberly, and particularly Rachelle, for the personal sacrifices they made to ensure Bernice’s comfort. Finally, with heartfelt gratitude we thank Nurse Dawn of Hospice of the Northwest for her compassion and guidance.

A memorial service celebrating Bernice’s life was held at Concordia Lutheran Church at 2 p.m. on July 3 with Pastor Mark Hanson officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lutheran World Relief at www.lwr.org

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home. Please visit Bernice’s page in the Book of Memories at www.wallinfuneralhome.com to share thoughts and condolences.