At the age of 91 Bernice Marie Sames died peacefully surrounded by her family on October 13, 2017 at St. Gertrude’s Health Care Center in Shakopee. Bernice’s life will be honored with a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, October 21 at 11am preceded by a time of gathering from 9-11am, all at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Jordan, MN. She will be laid to rest at St. Mary of Marystown Catholic Cemetery next to her husband, Werner. Father Timothy Yanta will preside. Her son Jim Sames will be the urn bearer.
On their family farm in Shakopee, MN Bernice was born to parents, Alois and Gertrude (Widmer) Pitschneider on March 26, 1926. She was the second of four children. She grew up in a tight knit family, where all of the children had to do chores to successfully run the farm. They raised chickens, a few pigs, one cow, and they all were expected to help in the garden where her specialty was picking the strawberries. In their free time they played baseball in the back yard, went fishing on the Minnesota River between Jordan and Chaska, and spent a lot of time in the woods hunting deer and squirrel.
After graduating from Jordan High School in 1944, she went to work for Paige and Hill, where she made shell boxes and prefab houses during the war time. Later, she worked at Valley Cues, making pool sticks, then waitressed at Wagner’s Supper Club. Her last position was at Theradyne Corporation, where she helped make wheelchairs.
In her junior year of high school, a memorable night in her life occurred while she attended a dance in Jordan and met the love of her life, Werner “Curly” Sames. After a period of courtship, they exchanged vows on November 7, 1947 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan. From this union, they were blessed with six beautiful children, Jim, Patrick, Thomas, Elizabeth Ann, Rose and Debbie. As a family they made several moves before they started farming near St. Patrick. They eventually moved to the town of Jordan in 1955, where Bernice lived the rest of her life.
Bernice had a passion for the outdoors. She enjoyed fishing, camping, flower gardening, hunting and horseback riding.…all with Curly. They were founding members of Minnesota Valley Archery and Prairie Downs Charioteers. She also enjoyed working in her flower beds and vegetable garden and being around her faithful four-legged companion cats, Boss and Dancer.
She was a woman of compassion. After a devastating loss of losing her husband, she focused her life on taking care of her mother for five years until her passing. Life was renewed once her grandchildren arrived, then great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Her legacy lives on in her children, Jim (Laurie) Sames, Patrick (Margaret) Sames, Thomas (Barbara) Sames, Rose (Barry) Ullmann, Debbie (Dan) Gosse; grandchildren Danielle (Matt) Collins, Lindsey (Shawn) Saxe, Ryan (Emilee) Sames, Beth Sames, Allison (Kyle Howk) Sames, Jessica Bloomquist, Tanya (Levi) Anderson, Christina (Justin) Donnay, Stephanie Gosse; 11 great-grandchildren, 3 great great-grandchildren; sister, Mary Ann (Richard) Wiggin.
There to welcome Bernice home in Heaven is her husband, Werner “Curly” Sames; infant daughter, Elizabeth Ann Sames; grandson, Joshua Gosse; parents, Alois and Gertrude Pitschneider; siblings, Richard (Adeline) Pitschneider, Robert (Mary Lou) Pitschneider.
