Bernice E. Brown of Elizabeth, Illinois, formerly of Apple River, Illinois, passed away at Pleasant View Nursing Home, Elizabeth, Illinois on Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Her funeral service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 210 W. Baldwin St., Apple River, on Saturday, December 13th at 11:00 a.m. with a visitation at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be at West Ella Highland Cemetery, Apple River. A lunch will follow at the Apple River United Methodist Church, 102 E. Baldwin St., Apple River. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Bartell-Leamon Funeral Home, Warren, Illinois.

Bernice Emma Brown was born on April 18, 1923 in Apple River, the daughter of Stanley and Myrtle (Hess) Coad. She grew up in Apple River, Illinois where her father and grandfather ran the Coad Well Drilling business. She attended school from 1st through 11th grade at the Apple River School and finished her senior year of high school at Warren High School, graduating in 1941. She worked as a clerk at the Royal Blue Store owned by Lester Webster in Apple River, then after her high school graduation, attended nurses' training at Deaconess Hospital, Freeport, Illinois. On June 30 1943 she married Stewart H. Breed, a career member of the U.S. Army, from Elizabeth, Illinois. After living at several Army bases with him, she returned to her parents' home to Apple River to give birth to her son and only child, James L. Breed, in 1944. Stewart served in France and Germany during the last year of WWII, serving in an airborne division. At the end of the war, Stewart was assigned to a U.S. Army constabulary unit near Frankfurt, Germany. Bernice and her son Jim travelled to Germany to the army base there and lived there from 1947 to 1948. While in Germany she took German lessons and spoke German with her housekeeper, who became a close friend. She and Stewart took sightseeing trips through Germany and Holland, and returned home with many photos and souvenirs. Following that assignment to Germany, Stewart was transferred to Camp Carson, Colorado, where he, Bernice and Jim lived for two years. During this time Stewart was in training with a U.S. Army ski company in the mountains at Camp Hale when he was discovered to have cancer. After extensive treatment and surgery at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, he was placed on medical leave and then in 1950 received a medical discharge from the U.S. Army, having advanced to the rank of Master Sargent. Stewart, Bernice and Jim returned to Apple River, where Stewart built up a contracting business and Bernice became a part-time clerk at the Apple River Post Office. She served as a postal clerk for Postmaster Lester Webster until he retired in 1973. Bernice was promoted to Postmaster at the Apple River Post Office and served in that position until her retirement in 1983. During her term as postmaster, Bernice also attended the national Postmaster's Association meetings and served as secretary for her regional association. She loved being a postmaster and getting acquainted with many people around the Apple River area.

Bernice loved gardening, had one of the largest vegetable gardens in Apple River, and loved canning and freezing vegetables and fruit. Bernice was very active in the First Presbyterian Church, Apple River. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, served as a member and officer of the church's Presbyterian Women's Association, and served as an Elder on the church's Session as one of the first woman Elders in the United Presbyterian Church (USA). She served for many years as Clerk of Session, responsible for all church records. Bernice was active in the Wenzel and the Boettner family associations and served as Secretary of the Breed family reunion until it disbanded in the 1960's.

Stewart Breed died of a recurrence of his cancer in 1974. After his death Bernice and her niece, Laura Coad, took a trip to Germany where Bernice was able to visit with old friends. Following three years of widowhood, Bernice married Leon I. Brown, a farmer near Stockton, Illinois on August 14, 1977. In marrying Leon she also became stepmother to his children, Paul, Phillip, Leonia and Lessia. Bernice and Leon continued to live in her home in Apple River until her retirement from the Post Office in 1983. During that time her mother, Myrtle Coad, became incapacitated and was admitted to the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Elizabeth, Illinois. In order to continue caring for her mother, Bernice obtained her Certified Nursing Assistant's certificate and worked as a CNA at the nursing home for several years. She and Leon built a new home on part of the Breed Family Farm on Longhollow Road west of Elizabeth, where they lived until Leon's death from Cancer in April, 1997. She continued to live on the farm until 2006 when her health no longer permitted it. In 2006 she moved to the Assisted Living facility operated by Pleasant View Nursing Home in Elizabeth. In 2010 she moved to the nursing home, where she spent her last four years.

Bernice was very active in community and veterans' affairs in Apple River. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the V.F.W. Auxiliary and read the names of the deceased veterans at each Memorial Day service in Apple River for many years. At her death, she was a 40-year member of V.F.W. Ladies' Auxiliary. Bernice also helped raise her niece, Laura Lee Coad after the death of Laura's father, Kenneth Coad, Bernice's brother, She became Laura's foster mother in 1966. Bernice is survived by her son, James L. Breed and his wife, Monika, her stepsons Paul Brown and his wife Hermie, her stepson Phillip Brown, her stepdaughter Lessia Bigler and her husband Charles, and her stepdaughter Leonia. She is also survived by her sister Phyllis Sigafus and her husband the Rev. Alvin Sigafus of Apple River, her brother Floyd Coad and his wife Donna of Oklahoma and by eight nieces and a nephew. She has three grandchildren: Thomas Breed of Wilton, Iowa; Nathan Breed and his wife Heather of Oswego, Illinois; and Katrina Wager and her husband David of Kewanee, Illinois; and two step-grandsons, Macallister Reynolds and Josiah Brown. She has six great-grandchildren: Michaela, Gabriel, Jett, Bo and Bella Breed and Max Wager.

Bernice's final resting place will be at West Ella Highland Cemetery, Apple River. A memorial fund has been set up at the First Presbyterian Church, 210 W. Baldwin St., P.O. Box 41, Apple River, Illinois, 61001. Donations in her name may be sent there, to Rev. James Breed at 3446 W. Longhollow Rd., Elizabeth, IL 61028, or to the charity of your choice.