Bernielle Gast

Bernielle Juanita Gast, 90, a resident of Fergus Falls, died Friday, August 6, 2010, at PioneerCare in Fergus Falls.  She was born August 22, 1919, at rural Wyndmere, North Dakota, the daughter of Frank O. and Minnie (Nelson) Johnson. She was baptized and confirmed at Bethel Lutheran Church in Wahpeton, ND. After the death of her mother when Bernielle was 13, she helped raise her younger siblings while living in Kansas and North Dakota. She met Richard A. J. Gast at the Dietz farm of rural Wahpeton, and after a three week romance, they eloped on September 3, 1938, to Sisseton, SD. She and Richard made their home in Wahpeton where she was employed at the Wahpeton State School of Science. They retired to their home on Deer Lake. While living at the lake, she worked for the Otter Tail Nursing Home. Richard passed away on February 7, 1976. In 1978, she moved to Fergus Falls and lived in her own home until September 2009 when she became a resident of the Pioneer Retirement Community. Her interests included spending time with her family, visiting, reading, crocheting, and playing Scrabble. She is survived by three daughters: Richadeene (Donald) Martinson of Boonville, IN, Karen Barton of Shoreview, MN, and Nancy (Lowell) Tollerson of Fergus Falls, MN. Her grandchildren include Jennifer (Paul) West, Cindy Bryant, Stephanie Martinson, Scott (Veloria) Martinson, Mark (Kim) Barton, Jack Barton, Brad (Kari) Tollerson, and Sarah (Stephen) Goerdt. She is also survived by eleven great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Leona Ward and Lucille Olson and a brother-in-law, Leonard Chap. Bernielle was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and all eleven siblings, including seven brothers, William, Franklin, Orville, Lambert, Irvin, Warren, and Alfred, and four sisters, Helen, Neodasha, Astrid, and Esther. Visitation: 5-7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home with a 6:30 p.m. prayer service and resumes one hour prior to the service at the church Service: 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 10, 2010, at Zion Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls Clergy: Reverend Stan Satre and Chaplain Harry Olson Interment: Knollwood Memorial Gardens in Fergus Falls Funeral Home: Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls