Berna Dean Kemberling

Berna Deen Kemerling passed away July 18 in Oklahoma City after a brief illness. She was 94. She was born Berna Deen Briggs on October 2, 1930, in Barnsdall, OK. Her parents were Elverta and Alexander Briggs. Berna graduated from Barnsdall High School in 1949, then studied nursing for two years in Pawhuska. Berna and Tom Kemerling were married in Nov. 1951. Tom's family had lived in the Barnsdall area for many years. He worked for Cities Service Oil Company. They had a long happy marriage until Tom's death in 2020. As Tom's job responsibilities increased, Tom and Berna moved to Madison, KS; Odessa, TX; Lindsay, OK; Houston, TX; Jackson, MS, and Tulsa, OK. They retired to Bartlesville and lived there for about 30 years. Berna was preceded in death by her parents, four sisters, Ethel Sherman, Betty Chance, Billie Marsh, and Alexis Briggs, husband Tom, son-in-law Scott West, and a son, Stephen Kemerling. She's survived by five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, daughter Julie West, son Glen Kemerling, daughter-in-law Shirley Kemerling, and son Scott Kemerling. She always enjoyed baking, working in her garden and tending her flowers, especially gardenias in Jackson and peonies and clematis in Bartlesville. And she really, really liked cats! A graveside Service will be held Wednesday July 23 @ 11AM @ Dewey City Cemetery in Dewey Oklahoma