Blanche Bernice Bishop

Born in Whitby, Bernice was the third child of five. Warren, Madeline, Bernice, Lorraine and Lloyd grew up on Perry Street during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

During WW2, Bernice worked at the Ajax munition factory. Shortly after the war’s conclusion, Bernice met her own War Hero when Alex Bishop returned home from the war in Europe. Alex spotted Bernice at a downtown Whitby restaurant one evening, while he was in the area, employed installing new electrical infrastructure.

Married early in 1947, they started their lives together. Eventually they purchased a house on Lee Avenue in Whitby, where the family grew to four girls, Jennifer, Lorna, Brenda and Valerie.

Bernice was very busy being a mother and house wife but still found time for the things she enjoyed. She enjoyed baking which was appreciated by all, especially the apple pies. There was also a large vegetable garden that she lovingly tended to. This meant that there were preserves of pickled beets and her own unique chili sauce stored for yearlong use. Flowers also had their place around the house, making a colourful display.

As her family grew older and made lives of their own, time was made for other passions. Going for walks with Alex through the Lynde Shores Conservation Area was a regular occurrence allowing them to watch and feed the birds.

In early 2006 Alex, the love of her life passed away. Family helped her through the grief, and Bernice was once again able to find happiness in going to the Oshawa Mall, usually twice per week. There she would meet up with her Mall Friends. They would walk up and down the mall and then sit at the food court and talk for hours about whatever came up.

Bernice also had some favorite expressions that were spoken regularly throughout conversation. Feel like a nickel, full as a little red wagon and full as a tick, always brought smiles.

Bernice was most happy when family was around, no matter which generation it was. Her walls had several pictures of each family member. Big in personality but small in size lead all of the grandchildren to refer to her as Pocket Gran. This too made her smile.

Over the years, Bernice’s family grew to include 8 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.