Obituary: Bernice Bertha Price

Bernice Bertha Price, 98, passed away peacefully Saturday, March 5, 2022, at Sunnyside Health Care in Cloquet. Bernice was born Dec. 21, 1923, in Ely, the fourth of seven children born to Matt and Bertha Korpi. Born prematurely, she was baptized immediately, placed in a shoebox and named after her mother, as they thought she would not survive. She stayed with us for 98 years. She attended Ely public schools and later earned an associate degree from Ely Junior College, of which she was very proud.

She moved to Duluth to work with an attorney and then for St. Louis County, also holding an evening job at Bagley's. When she moved to Cloquet she worked at First National Bank, the school district, and the Fond du Lac Business Planning Department, from where she retired.

Bernice met her husband Felix in Duluth and they were married in the former St. Casimir's Church rectory on Oct. 4, 1947. Bernice was a devoted daughter, mother, and grandmother. Bernice made a point of helping her own mother whenever possible, so she could also attend her grandchildren and great-grandchildren's family events.

Bernice had a God-given gift of a beautiful singing voice, which she shared over the years as a soloist for weddings and funerals, with good friend and organ accompanist Amy Schoen. Once at Sunnyside, she could always be heard among the residents singing with that beautiful voice. She was known there as "Sweet Bernice."

She loved taking family vacations with Felix and son Kent. Once a year they went to Burley's Resort on White Iron Lake near Ely. In later years, after Felix's passing, she went on bus trips with friends visiting the east and west coasts of the United States.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Felix; brothers Kenneth and Hugh (Aila); and sisters Violet Tuomala, Elsie Maki and Myrtle Ann "Honey" Billick.

Bernice will be missed by her son Kent (Vickie); grandchildren Mandy, Travis (Harmoni), Stacey (Matt), Kent (Jenny), Tamara, and Cody (Whitney); great-grandchildren Kayle, Luke, Greta, Mason, Milania, Mikko, Jack, Gemma and "Elliot Felix"; sister Lillian Forcier of Apios; sister-in-law Anne Korpi of Minneapolis; brother-in-law Kenneth Billick of Waterloo, Iowa; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

The family would like to thank Sunnyside Health Care and Dr. Kenneth Ripp for helping with her stay.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service Friday, March 11 at Atkins Northland Funeral Home in Cloquet. Burial will be in New Calvary Cemetery in Cloquet. A luncheon will follow the service at the funeral home. To sign the guestbook and leave an online tribute see http://www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.

Pine Knot News March 11, 2022