Bernadine M. Black
Bernadine Mary (Horn) Black, 96, was born March 9, 1918, in Plum City, Wis., the first child of Joseph and Johanna (Hofacker) Horn. She passed away peacefully on July 8, 2014 at Oak View Care Center in Durand, Wis., where she had resided for nearly two years.
Bernadine was baptized and confirmed at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Plum City. She attended the one-room Gilles School, but when St. John's school opened in 1930, she walked to Plum City to attend there. She graduated from 8th grade at St. John's school in 1932, but due to the Great Depression and the early death of her mother, she was not able to attend high school. She married Willard Black on August 19, 1941. They settled on the Black family farm in rural Arkansaw, Wis., where they farmed and raised their children. Having grown up in the midst of the Great Depression, Bernadine strongly valued hard work and tidiness. She was rarely as happy as when she had a newly mown lawn and a weed-free garden.
In her retirement years, Bernadine became interested in family heritage and diligently researched and recorded the genealogies of the Horn, Hofacker, Engeldinger, Black, Hartung and Meehan families. She will also be remembered very fondly for her delicious Macintosh apple pies, sour cream cut-out Christmas cookies and hamburger hotdish.
A beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Bernadine is survived by her four children, Jean (Don) Kannel of Arkansaw; Janet (Humberto) Yznaga of Spring Valley, Calif.; Eunice Black of St. Paul, Minn., and Roger (Melissa) Black, White Bear Lake, Minn. Her grandchildren are Mary (Keith) Heavilin, Frederick, Colo.; Monica (George) Cicci, Fitchburg, Wis.; Mark (Lynn Wolf) Kannel, Oconomowoc, Wis.; Marcia Kannel, Oregon, Wis.; Anthony (Laurie Bailey) Yznaga, Escondido, Calif.; David Yznaga, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Scott (Jessica) Black, Arkansaw; Molly Black (Tim Quast), Wyoming, Minn.; John Black, White Bear Lake, Minn.; Laura (Justin) Kaderlik, Faribault, Minn. She is further survived by nine great-grandchildren: Kayleigh Hillert (Lilly Strauss), Cole Hillert, Noah Cicci, Maya Kannel, Julia Black, Delihla Georges, Lauren Kaderlik, and Vivian and Evelyn Yznaga. Her sister, Gladys Hartung, of New Brighton, Minn., and many nieces and nephews also survive her.
Bernadine was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Willard; her brother and sister-in-law, Clem and Isabelle Horn; her brother-in-law, Harvey Hartung; and her parents.
A funeral Mass will be held at 11am on Friday, July 11, at St. Henry's Catholic Church, Eau Galle, Wis. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the funeral begins. Burial will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in rural Arkansaw.
Bernadine's family wishes to thank the caring staff of Oak View Care Center and all friends who wrote and visited Bernadine in her later years.
Memorials may be made to the Pepin County Historical Society in Durand, St. Henry's Catholic Church, Eau Galle or to Oak View Care Center.
Rhiel Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Durand, is serving the family.