Frances Edith Berns, 05 May 1934 – 01 Apr 2013

BERNS, PALMER, ALLEN, VILETA, BOATMAN

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 5/2/2013 at 15:54:30

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries – 18 April 2013

Frances Berns, 78

Frances Berns, 78, Belmond, formerly of Belle Plaine, died Monday, April 1, 2013, at the Iowa Specialty Hospital, Belmond.

Memorial visitation was held Monday, April 8, at the Dugger Funeral Home, Belmond. Inurnment was in Belmond Cemetery.

Frances Edith Berns was born May 5, 1934, in Belmond, the daughter of Ward Sr. and Ennis C. Allen Palmer. She grew up and attended school in Belmond, graduating from Belmond High School in 1952.

She married Robert W. Berns July 11, 1952, in Wichita Falls, Texas. The couple made their home on several U.S. Air Force Bases until returning to Belmond in 1955. She worked as a housewife and mother. She also worked at the Acco Seed Company Mail Department, Belmond, and the Federal Land Bank, Clarion.

In 1985, the couple moved to Belle Plaine where they owned and operated the very successful “Sharkees Bait and Liquor Store.”

After his death in 2007, she continued to run the store. After selling the business in 2010, she returned to Belmond in 2011. She lived at the Belmond Community Apartments.

She loved to sew and quilt and made numerous quilts over the years for family and friends. She was an avid reader and had a great sense of humor. She is remembered as a people person who lived her life as an open book and never knew a stranger.

Berns is survived by her children, Robert and Roxanne, Belmond; Brian and Kim, Jefferson, and Lisa Vileta, Marengo; two grandchildren, Brandon (Emily) and Mandi; one sister-in-law, Vernadean and Dallas Boatman, Portland, Ore.; one brother-in-law, Ted and Nancy Berns, Sierra Vista, Ariz., a special family friend, Bob Vileta; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents; one grandson, Anthony; one daughter-in-law, Connie; two sisters and one brother.