Berniece B. Power

Berniece Bernadine (Zajic) Power, age 91, of Kearney, passed away Saturday, January 11th, 2020 at CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. Visitation will be held at Horner Lieske McBride and Kuhl Funeral Home Wednesday, January 15th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. followed by a rosary/scripture reading service beginning at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, January 16th at 10:30 a.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Kearney with Fr. Paul Colling officiating. Burial will be in the Kearney Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated later. Please visit www.hlmkfuneral.com. to leave a tribute or message of condolence. Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services of Kearney is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements. Berniece was born December 14th, 1928 to Vencle and Elizabeth (Kudrna) Zajic in Red Cloud, Nebraska. She later met the love of her life, James Lowell Power in Imperial, Nebraska where they were married on February 17th, 1947. In 1958, the couple moved to Kearney where they resided for the rest of their lives. Berniece was an amazing person. She was a strong woman who raised an incredible family. It was important to her that her children were educated, treated others with respect, gave back to society, and had a strong faith. Berniece had a wonderful sense of humor and a beautiful heart. She was the queen of tea parties, loved singing and dancing to “School Days” to get children ready for school, and was always ready for a witty comeback. Beautiful Berniece, BB, was what she liked to be called by her family. She loved to read the paper, drink coffee, enjoy a piece of pie, and to play cards – with pitch being her favorite. She had a long legacy, having achieved a family of 5 generations. Berniece was blessed with 6 children, 15 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Her faith was evident to anyone who had the privilege of meeting her. She made everyone feel special with her infectious smile. No one was ever excluded when she was around. She was proud to be a charter member of the original Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Kearney, to touch many young lives by teaching Sunday school for many, many years, and to be a past Regent and member of the Catholic Daughters of Americas St. James Court. Berniece was a member of the Eagles Auxiliary Club in Kearney. She was also proud to hold the honor of having longest span of years to have children enrolled at Kearney Catholic High School. Many people knew her as the ‘candy counter lady’ at Kaufmann and Wernert’s store in downtown Kearney where she was employed for 17 years. Still to this day, people continued to recognize her from their school days from many years ago. Numerous others were fortunate to have been raised by and influenced by her as their daycare provider. She touched over 100 lives as she provided daycare for a span of over 30 years. Berniece loved those children as her very own and cherished the relationships she developed with their families. She will be missed by many. Left to cherish her memory are her children Gloria Ourada-Simonson (George) of Elm Creek; Alton Power of Spring, Texas; Joseph Power (Kelli) of Lincoln; Jeffery Power (Heather) of Reno, Nevada; Jannette Arram (Amer) of Kearney; 15 grandchildren, Amy Mostek (Pat) Elm Creek; Amber Dorsey (Corbey) of Kearney; Preston Power (Helen) of Lincoln; Phillip Power (Krystallin) of Omaha; Meredith Curran (Kevin) Iowa; Jillian Power of Lincoln; Ashley Scholz (Trevor) of Lincoln; Nichole Cowell (Jacobee) of Lincoln; Alex and Zach Power of Reno, Nevada; Joseph, Christina, and Lilly Arram all of Kearney; Randy Simonson of San Francisco, California; Jennifer Simonson of Lincoln; 11 great grandchildren, MacKayla Hemmingsen (Tanner) of Elm Creek; Nickolas Mostek of Kearney; Keagan and Kaeden Dorsey of Kearney; Augustine and Ambrose Power of Omaha; Callum and Sage Curran of Iowa; Blake Scholz, Kylie and Chloe Cowell of Lincoln; 2 great-great grandchildren, Forrest and Ronan Hemmingsen of Elm Creek. There is no doubt she is smiling down from heaven as she joins her husband, James Lowell Power Sr., her son, James Power Jr. and her son-in-law Nickolas Ourada in the Kingdom of God.

Tributes

Berniece B. Power

December 14, 1928 - January 11, 2020