Ida Bernardo

1952 - 2022

Ida Bernardo 1952-2022 On Saturday, July 9th, 2022, Ida Bernardo, passed away at the age of seventy in Prince George, BC, Canada. Ida is survived by her husband, Cesarino, and her four children, Renaldo, Adriano, Sergio, and Anita, as well as her siblings; Mario, Nicola, Luigi, Maria Antonia, Lucia, and many cousins, nieces and nephews around the world. Ida was born on March 4, 1952 in the village of Grimaldi, Calabria, Italia to her loving parents, Paolo and Antonia Fata. Her family raised her on farmland that was shared with other families in a close-knit community. Many of her closest friendships were formed when she was a little girl on that farm, and she carried those friendships forward in her life. Seeking a better life, she married Cesarino Bernardo on April 13th, 1971, and soon immigrated to Prince George. Her new life held many challenges as she adjusted to life in this northern climate, with the new culture and language. She was welcomed into an extensive community of Calabrese immigrants. As a young bride and a new immigrant, she worked hard to establish a new life-building a duplex with her husband, establishing a truly legendary garden to feed her family, and thinking of the future, she even planted saplings that grew into tall, fifty year old evergreens. As Ida and Cesarino settled into life in Canada, they raised their children, who she loved very much, and she gave everything she had to give to them. She was a proud, strong, and tough woman. Ida had many passions in her life. She enjoyed baking, cooking, and getting a deal on anything from food to livestock. Ida was a generous person, often sharing fresh fruit and vegetables from her garden, bread and other baked goods. She enjoyed feeding friends and family, whether by making her famous potato donuts for a wedding or funeral reception, celebrating a birthday, or sharing afternoon tea with a friend that stopped by. Ida was a friendly figure around the neighbourhood and met a lot of people just through chatting on the street. In addition to being a talented gardener, she also preserved her own food, canning her own tomato sauce, and freezing or drying her harvests in the fall. One of her favourite things to do was foraging for mushrooms and fiddleheads. Mom's passion for baking gave her the idea to sell bread, tarts and pies at the Prince George Farmers Market. Becoming a vendor combined a lot of her favourite things; baking, meeting new people, and being independent. She was a very popular figure at the market, and continued to visit with her friends even after she stopped being a vendor. She lived her life according to her sense of duty to her family. Ida travelled back to Calabria many times to visit her parents, family and friends. She was a humble, gracious and curious person. Her curiosity motivated her to use the computer, searching Google and Youtube for her interests from around the world. She will truly be missed in the hearts of her family and everyone she encountered in the community. As per her wishes, the family will not be holding a funeral for Ida. A longer version of this obituary is available online at: https://www.forevermissed.com/ida-bernardo/about, where you may also leave a tribute or a story about Ida at https://www.forevermissed.com/ida-bernardo/stories. If you wish to honour Ida through a donation, Ida requested donations to Prince George charities focused on helping the homeless. The family welcomes any donations to the https://bccancerfoundation.com/.