September 21, 1932 – November 22, 2018
The family of Bernie are sorry to announce her passing quietly at Hospice in Kamloops of a heart related condition. With her children in attendance, the Lord offered her his hand and she gracefully slipped away to join her loved ones in heaven. She is survived by her youngest sister Lauretta Gauthier, oldest son Michel (Jann), youngest son Brian (Luz Elena) and daughter Suzan (Harold) as well as four grandsons: Curran, Paul, Fernando and Mateo. She also has one great grandson Cian.
Born in Kimberley during the depression, she was the 13th child in a family of 14. Several years after some of the family moved to the coast, she married Paul Bouthillier and had 3 sons, Michel, Daniel and Brian. Sadly, Paul passed due to a work related injury and shortly after that, she lost her middle son Danny to a brain tumour. With the love and support of some family members, especially the Bouthillier side, she persevered. She started square dancing where she met her second husband, Tom Gardner and later had her last child, Suzan.
Shortly thereafter, the family moved to the interior of the province to a remote area west of Quesnel called Nazko and lived on a sizeable acreage. They enjoyed hunting, fishing, raising several different types of livestock and living off the land.
In the early 1990s, Bernie and Tom moved to the outskirts of Quesnel where they lived until Tom’s passing in 2010. After living for a short time in Prince George with Suzan and Harold, she moved to Kamloops to be closer to her son Brian and family as a well as sister Lauretta.
Bernie was passionate about her Catholic Faith and her children. She also enjoyed painting, reading, riding horse-back and the outdoors.
Prayers will be recited at 7:00 pm on Thursday, November 29th and the Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, November 30th. Both are to take place at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 635 Tranquille Rd., Kamloops. Father Paul Simms, Celebrant.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic School System.
One Tribute
So sorry to hear of your Mom’s passing.
Your Mom and Dad were one of the first couples I met when Marlin and I moved to Nazko. One of the pioneers of the Valley. I still have my home there.