Bernice "Beanie" Ulness

Bernice E. “Beanie” Ulness, 86, a longtime Bismarck resident, went home to our Lord, Monday, April 7, at the Baptist Home in Bismarck. Services will be held at 10:30 am Friday at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Nadine Lehr officiating. Burial will be held at the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held from 2:00 pm until 9:00 pm Thursday at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will be held at 5:00 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Bernice Elaine Ulness was born October 15, 1922, in Hickson, ND, to John and Carrie Larson Iverson. Beanie was the youngest of six siblings. After graduation from Hickson High School, she was one of the original “Rosie the Riveters,” moving to Southern California to work on airplanes being built for World War II. She moved back to North Dakota and met and was married to Lester Edgar Ulness on August 21, 1949, in Moorhead, Minnesota, and they started a family in Fargo, North Dakota. Three of her boys, John, Joel, and Jerry, were born in Fargo, and Jeffrey was born in Bismarck, ND, where they moved in 1959. Bernice was a homemaker her whole life, and also worked for the Bismarck School System, the State Capitol and at various waitressing jobs around Bismarck. Many people may remember Beanie as the best waitress the East 40 ever had. She always provided impeccable service with a warm smile and friendly hello. Bernice was the original “Hockey Mom” before there was a hockey mom. If you couldn’t hear Beanie yelling at her sons' hockey games…. you were probably deaf! In her lifetime she was active in various auxiliary organizations related to the VFW, American Legion, 40et8, Elks and Eagles. She was a charter member of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church and also a charter member of the Bismarck Hockey Boosters. Bernice leaves her loving sons, John and his wife, Ruth Winger Ulness of Bismarck ND, Jerome “Jerry” Ulness and his fiancé, Britt Patterson of Detroit Lakes, MN, and Jeffrey “Jeff” and his wife, Barbara Bove Ulness of New York City, NY, and Westport, CT; grandsons, Nate, Willi, Connor, Brent, Eric and James and granddaughter, Allison. She was preceded in death by her son, Joel, her husband, Lester and her parents. Bernice was the youngest of six children; Ella, Myrtle, Edward, Eunice, and Florence who have all pre-deceased her. Bernice will be dearly missed by her friends and family and the memories of her loving ways will be long remembered by all whose lives she touched. Memorials may be given to the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery, 1825 46th Street, Mandan, ND, 58554, or to the Baptist Home, 1100 East Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND, 58501.

Bernice "Beanie" Ulness

October 15, 1922 - April 7, 2009