| Bio | Judith Ann Bernhardt, 69, of Arkansas City, passed away Monday, December 12, 2011. Funeral services will include a 7 p.m. Rosary on Friday, December 16, and a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 17, both at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Parker Cemetery. Father Ruben Ortiz will officiate. Judith was born March 14, 1942, to Harry S. and Margaret M. (Rozgay) Stearns in Independence, MO. She was raised and educated in Independence, MO and graduated from Van Horn High School in 1960. After high school, she attended the University of Missouri, where she received a Bachelor's degree in speech pathology. She later went on to receive her Master's degree in Special Education from Pittsburgh State University. On November 12, 1966, she married James M. Bernhardt at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Independence, MO. The couple made their home in Kansas City, MO, for five years before moving to Colorado for six years. After relocating to Chanute, KS, for two and a half years, the couple moved their family to Arkansas City in 1980. Judith worked as a speech pathologist in the Kansas City and Colorado school districts. She was a special education teacher at Arkansas City High School, Arkansas City Middle School, and Roosevelt Elementary. Her total education career was 35 years before retiring in 2002. Judith was very active in the Sacred Heart parish, including the Alter Society. She also was a member of the Arkansas City Literacy Council and the Delta Kappa Gamma teaching sorority. Additionally, she was the current president of the Kansas Association of Retired School Personnel Ark City chapter. She is survived by her husband, James, of the home; sons, Jeff L. Bernhardt, and wife, Melissa, of Waukee, IA, and John A. Bernhardt of Brooklyn, NY; daughter, Jill M. Frye, and husband, Kevin, of Wichita, KS; half-brother, Edward Stearns, of Nixa, MO.; grandchildren, Shae, Regan, and Dane of Waukee, IA and Rylee and Rory of Wichita, KS. Judith was preceded in death by her parents. A memorial has been established for the restoration of the stained glass windows at Sacred Heart Church. Contributions may be made through the funeral home. Arrangements are under the direction of Rindt-Erdman Funeral Home, Arkansas City. Online condolences may be made at www.rindt-erdman.com.
Published by Kansas City Star on Dec. 15, 2011. |
