Bernice Edith Hovis Enlund of Culver passed away on November 28 at the age of 99, a long and beautiful life.  She was born on July 23, 1926 to parents William and Cecelia (Erickson) Hovis.  She grew up a tough country farm girl in a loving home with three brothers. 

Bernice graduated from Alborn School in 1945 and then attended Duluth State Teacher’s College in Duluth and began her classroom career.  She married her “honey” Leo E. Enlund on June 11, 1948 and they had 63 precious years and three daughters together.  As a family they enjoyed camping, fishing and family vacations.

Family was everything to Bernice.  She provided a loving and caring home for her daughters. Her eight grandchildren were all very special to her and she couldn’t have been more attentive and generous with them, asking about them by name until the end.  She enjoyed seeing and holding the great grandchildren as they came along.

Her education was continued at UMD with a BS degree in elementary education and her Master’s degree.  She had a long career as a teacher, working at the Alborn and Brookston St. Louis County schools and for the Cloquet public school district, retiring in 1987.  Math and science were her specialities.  She loved working with elementary children and also taught Sunday school and was an active 4-H leader. 

Besides her classroom skills, Bernice was a woman of many varied talents, an excellent cook, baker (especially pies) and seamstress.  She helped harvest and can from an enormous garden every year.  She was quite a cribbage player, enjoying her lady’s group for many years and continuing to play and win recently.

Bernice and Leo built a home on Schelin Lake and they enjoyed all that lake life had to offer; loons, frogs, fishing, family gatherings at the cabin and the beloved birch trees, to name a few.  After retirement they enjoyed traveling with their motor home and winters in Florida.  Bernice redeveloped her artistic side and began a new hobby of watercolor painting, gifting many with original greeting cards.

She was a lifelong member of Faith Lutheran Church in Culver.

She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; and three brothers and their wives, Lawrence (Rachel) Hovis, Russell (Myra Bowman) Hovis and Gerald (Mary) Hovis.

She was loved by many and will be sadly missed by her daughters:  Nancy (William) Blom, Cloquet; Peggy (George) Swanson, Culver; and Lenore “Lori” (Brad) Wright, Duluth.  Her eight grandchildren: Matthew Blom, Brent (Jen) Swanson, Bryan (Sarah) Blom, Hannah Corbin, Celia (David) Cozzolino, Eli (Niki) Corbin, Diana (Dan) Jones and Tyler (Danielle) Blom; 16 great grandchildren and many very special nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A memorial service will be held at Atkins-Northland Funeral Home in Cloquet on Saturday, December 13.  Visitation at 11:00, service at 12:00, with a  luncheon to follow.  Interment at a later date.  Memorials preferred to Cloquet Education Foundation and the Alborn MN Fire and Rescue Department.

Arrangements by Atkins-Northland Funeral Home, Cloquet.