Mrs. Bernice Shoemake English

SERVICES:       Thursday, February 10, 2022

                         Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, Ovett

                         3:00 p.m.

INTERMENT:    Mt. Olive Cemetery

VISITATION:   Thursday, February 10, 2022

                         Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, Ovett

                         1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

Funeral services will be Thursday, February 10, 2022 at Mt. Olive United Methodist Church in Ovett, MS. Visitation will begin at 1:30 PM with the funeral service to follow at 3:00 PM. Ms. English passed away at her home in Raleigh, NC at the age of 94. Rev. James Salter will officiate the service with burial to follow at the Mt. Olive United Methodist Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Elijah English, Garrett Peterson, Ethan Smith, Lynn Smith, Tim White, Ted Crabtree, and Mike Webb as alternate.

Bernice, born in Whitfield Community near Ovett, MS, was a member of Mt. Olive Methodist Church in her youth. She attended Jones County public schools, graduating from Ellisville High School. She then attended Jones County Junior College (JCJC) studying Library Science. While at JCJC, she met her husband and they moved to Corinth, MS where they both taught school. They settled in Pascagoula, MS where they began raising their two children, Danny and Kathy. Passionate for teaching and serving others, Bernice also dedicated her life to taking care of everyone she could. She was a homemaker and a caretaker for her family and those in her community. Her family also moved to Florida and North Carolina for work, eventually returning to Mississippi after their children left for college. Bernice then transitioned fully to a life in Raleigh, NC abiding with her daughter where she helped raise her youngest grandson, Elijah. There she became a member of Trinity Baptist Church where she faithfully attended and participated in many ministries.

She was preceded in death by her son, Danny English; parents, Charley and Lettie Shoemake; brothers, Marlon Shoemake (wife Grace), Vernon Shoemake (wife Evie), and Marcus Shoemake (wife Elizabeth); and sister, Venita White (husband Robert).

She is survived by her daughter, Kathy English (Raleigh, NC); grandson, Matt Miles-English (Wilmington, NC); granddaughter, Katie Fisher and husband Trey (Maitland, FL); granddaughter, Sara Polito and husband Curtis (Winterpark, FL); grandson, Elijah English and wife Sarah (Denver, CO); great-grandson, Seamus Fisher (Maitland, FL); great-granddaughter, Airlie Kittinger (Maitland, FL); great-grandson, Brogan Fisher (Maitland, FL); great-granddaughter, Audra Kittinger (Maitland, FL); and a host of nieces and nephews.

Kathy and Elijah would like to say thank you to the staff and members of Trinity Baptist Church, especially Rev. Karen Eickhoff, for the many hours of “mom-sitting,” shared meals, pleasant phone calls, encouraging texts, inquiries about her well-being, generous assistance, and many prayers through Bernice’s difficult journey with dementia. A special thank you to her nieces Amendia Netto and Gail Peterson for traveling from Mississippi to help. The family also extends a very special thanks to Darcy and Curtis Jackson for their endless care and friendship for so many years. They have always supported Kathy, Elijah, and Bernice in every possible way, even to this day.

Bernice’s family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Heartland Hospice Services of Raleigh, NC for their dedicated service over the last few months.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bernice English’s memory to the Rainbow Scholarship at Trinity Baptist Church (4815 Six Forks Rd. Raleigh, NC 27609) or to the Mt. Olive Methodist Church General Fund (8 Arthur Tucker Rd. Ovett, MS 39464).