Bianca C. Bernathal

– Bianca "Be" Bernthal passed away peacefully Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, at Riverside Healthcare Center in Missoula at the age of 88.

Bianca was born Sept. 5, 1927, in Neshkoro, Wisconsin, to Rudolph Tornow and Magdalena (nee Zuberbier) Tornow. She was baptized with the full Christian name of Bianca Clara Josephine Tornow.

The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, she and her four siblings were raised in a parsonage, spending most of their growing years in rural Wisconsin just west of Green Bay. Church activities filled the majority of her youth and it was at a church picnic that she met her future husband, Leonard G. Bernthal, the son of a neighboring pastor. Bianca graduated from Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska, in 1950. She taught a class of 40 second-graders for one year before resigning her teaching position to get married.

Bianca and Leonard exchanged their wedding vows July 8, 1951, in Caledonia, Wisconsin. They immediately moved to Clarkston, Washington, where Leonard was a pastor. Bianca and Leonard were blessed with five children during their years in Clarkston, although they lost their second-born son to childhood illness at age 2. They moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1964 with their four living children. While in St. Louis, their fifth living child was born. After four years in the Midwest, they returned to the mountains, settling in Missoula. After becoming empty nesters in the early 1980s, Bianca and Leonard spent three years in Globe, Arizona, and another two years in Lovelock, Nevada, before returning to Missoula for retirement in 1988.

As the wife of a pastor, Bianca's life revolved around the church and her family. She loved to garden, sew, do needlework, bake and play the piano and organ. Bianca also worked at Albertsons in Missoula for many years and befriended hundreds of regular shoppers with her winsome smile and friendly conversation. She was always active in her local church congregation, teaching Sunday school, playing the organ and nurturing those in her church family.

Even after dementia robbed her of the ability to do many of the things she loved, Bianca continued to nurture others. The staff at Riverside spoke often of the way she gave comfort to those around her, boldly professing her faith. It was her confidence in the salvation Christ won for her through his death on the cross that sustained her throughout her life. It was that same faith that gave her peace in death.

Bianca was preceded in death by her husband and young son James, her parents, a sister and two brothers. She is survived by two sons and their families, Jon (Lynn) Bernthal of Missoula and Tom (Angela) Bernthal of Phoenix; three daughters and their families, Deb (Terry) Johnson of Missoula, Donna (Mark) Wilson of Lynnwood, Washington, and Rebecca (Kirk) Geiger of Snohomish, Washington; one sister, Elsbeth Flunker of Neenah, Wisconsin; along with 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A memorial in Bianca's name has been established at Living Savior Lutheran Church in Missoula. Donations can be made to the church in lieu of flowers. Funeral services will be held at Living Savior, 4616 Gharrett St., at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, with a light luncheon to follow. Messages of condolence for Bianca may be left at gardencity@missoulafuneralhomes.com.


Read Bianca Bernathal's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.