Bernice McDowall

Bernice McDowall, 92, Bismarck, died October 8, 2010, at St. Vincent's Care Center. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at McCabe United Methodist Church in Bismarck with Rev. Rick Fossum officiating. Burial will be at Pleasantview Cemetery in McKenzie, ND. Visitation will be held on Monday from 1:30 to 2:30pm at St. Vincent's Care Center and from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Eastgate Funeral Service. Visitation will continue on Tuesday one hour prior to the service at the church. Bernice Bliss McDowall was born on September 2, 1918, to Percy and Lorena Rodgers Bliss, who farmed five miles north of McKenzie. After graduating from McKenzie High School, Bernice attended secretarial school before marrying William McDowall on April 25, 1942, in Santa Anna, CA. During the war, the couple sent money home every month to secure their own farm near McKenzie, to which they returned in 1945. Bernice was a woman of many talents which she freely shared with her community. She was active as a 4-H leader, in Homemakers, and was faithful in providing music at the Methodist Church in McKenzie for many years. She loved the land, and was happiest amidst her garden vegetables and flowers. She froze and canned produce, raised chickens, and sold eggs and cream. In 1961, the family moved to Bismarck with three young daughters. In 1968 Bernice used her secretarial training to begin a career as a school secretary at Wachter Jr. High, where she spent the next ten years. She loved the kids, and they loved teasing her, enjoying her sense of humor and caring attitude. In 1979, she retired and moved back to the farm, where she built her dream home and lived for the next thirty years. No one enjoyed pheasant season more than Bernice, especially when her warm kitchen was filled with neighbors and friends responding to the sign out front announcing "Doughnuts are Ready!!" She was very skilled at nourishing people in body and spirit. Bernice was a well loved woman. Among those who loved and survive her are her daughters, Cheryll McDowall, Kathleen Scott Blanc, and Barbara Myron McDowall-Wagner; her sister, Margaret Doug McDowall; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. She also deeply touched the lives of several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother and sister-in-law, Rodger and Margaret Bliss. Her family wishes to give special thanks to the staff of St. Vincent's Care Center for surrounding Bernice with exceptional thoughtfulness and diligent care over the last two years.

Bernice McDowall

September 2, 1918 - October 8, 2010