Jessie Bernard

A service celebrating the life of Jessie Jones Bernard will be held on Wednesday, October 8th at 10:00am at First United Methodist Church, Natchitoches, Louisiana with Reverend Doug deGraffenreid officiating. Graveside services will follow at Memory Lawn Cemetery. The family will receive visitors on Tuesday, October 7th from 5:00-8:00pm at The Crossroads Sanctuary, First United Methodist Church. Mrs. Bernard passed away peacefully at home on her beloved “hilltop” on Sunday, October 5th at 12:40am. Jessie Bernard, or “Miss Jessie” as she was affectionately known, was born on March 31st, 1917 in Franklinton, Louisiana. She was the sixth of seven children born to Chesley B. Jones and Emma Stafford. She attended Louisiana State Normal College from 1934 to 1938, receiving her bachelor’s degree in Commerce. After raising her seven children, she returned to complete her master’s degree +30 in Education and Guidance Counseling. She married Henry Howard Bernard on March 31st 1940, and, for the past seventy years, has made Natchitoches her home. She was employed by the Natchitoches Parish School Board from 1961 to 1982, during which time she taught History and Business, and became head guidance counselor at Natchitoches High School. She was a loyal member of First United Methodist Church. She was also a member of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, Natchitoches Genealogy Group, Natchitoches Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, and a member of P.E.O. Sisterhood Chapter I for over 68 years. An unsung hero of the Greatest Generation, she will be remembered for the special love she held for her “seven jewels” and the sacrifices she made for them, for being a devoted mother, for angel food cakes laden with camellia blooms from her front yard, and her peanut butter fudge. She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Howard Bernard Sr.; her parents, Chesley B. Jones and Emma Stafford Jones; five sisters: Stella Jones, Myrtis Mizell, Mary Burkhalter, Lil Ford, and Ruby Corkern, and one brother: Truett Jones. She is survived by her seven children and their spouses: Henry Howard Bernard, Jr. and wife Anna of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Kayla Ann Bernard Carruth and husband Harvey of Portland, Oregon; Mary Bronwyn Bernard Crowe and husband Kevin of Charlotte, North Carolina; Louis Chesley Bernard and wife Gayle of Natchitoches; Scriven Lance Bernard and wife Debbie of Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Emma Lucia Bernard Pitcher and husband Jack of Natchitoches; and Don Starling Bernard and wife Rayann of Benton, Louisiana. “Mamanard” will be greatly missed by 17 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 47 nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be her four sons: Henry Bernard, Jr., Louie Bernard, Scriven Bernard, and Don Bernard; her three son-in-laws: Harvey Carruth, Kevin Crowe, and Jack Pitcher; and nephew Ronald Corkern. Honorary pallbearers will be Dale B. Bernard, Nettles Brown, Sidney B. Evans, Jr., Joe H. Pierson, Jr., Daniel W. Poole, and Dr. Randall J. Webb. The family requests that memorials be made to First United Methodist Church of Natchitoches.