Bernice Reese

Bernice Reese, 86 of Evansville, formerly of Alexandria and Ortonville died Tuesday, February 27, 2018, at the Prairie Ridge Hospital in Elbow Lake.

Bernice was born on October 31, 1931, in Sisseton, South Dakota the daughter of John and Mary (Martin) Rieman. In the summer of 1933 her family moved to Minnesota Lake, MN, where her mother passed away in August of 1934 of Tetanus.

In 1951 Bernice moved to Ortonville with her sister and worked as a waitress--this is where she met her future husband. Bernice and Delmer Reese were married on October 23, 1954.  They lived in Ortonville until Delmer passed away March 22, 2004.   She enjoyed being outdoors her whole life, she especially loved flowers and took pride in her beautiful "weeds" as she affectionately referred to her flowers.  In addition to gardening Bernice was a wonderful baker and spent many hours making breads and cookies in large quantities just to give away to family and friends and her daycare kids and families.  After Delmer's death, Bernice moved to Alexandria to be close to family--she continued to help out with daycare and created beautiful flower gardens around her little house. Bernice enjoyed sitting in her yard soaking up the sun, enjoying her well maintained gardens and visiting with people and neighbors passing by. Bernice lived in her home until July of 2017, when she entered the Evansville Care Campus.

She is survived by five children, Wanda Reese and Virginia Reese-Hodgson both of Alexandria, Donna (Michael) Ascheman of Morris,  Betty (Doug) Wittnebel of Bellingham and Wayne (Melanie) Reese of Barrett; thirteen grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.  Bernice was preceded in death by her husband, Delmer in March 22, 2004; One grandson, Jonathan Hodgson and one great-grandson, Nicholas Bartone; three brothers, Morris, Lewis and her twin brother, Gabriel; three sisters, Ada Reiman, Phyllis Walters and Gladys German.

Funeral Service: 1:00 PM, Monday,  March 5, 2018, at Erickson-Smith Funeral Home in Elbow Lake with visitation one hour prior to the service.

Clergy: Rev. Gabe Norton

Interment: Kinkead Cemetery in Alexandria

Funeral Home: Erickson-Smith of Elbow Lake

Online Condolences:EricksonSmithFH.Com