Bernice M Jakel

Bernice Mary Hildebrand Jakel, 85, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 19, 2025, with her family by her side.
Born on July 26, 1939, in Butternut, Wisconsin, to the late Theodore and Alice (Rein) Hildebrand, Bernice attended Butternut and Fifield public high schools. She was a devout Catholic and joined the Sisters of the Divine Savior in Portage, Wisconsin. Though she left the convent before professing her final vows, she carried her deep faith throughout her life and followed a new calling-to become a teacher and a mother.
Bernice married the love of her life, Dennis Jakel, and together they raised their children, Leslie and Todd, in Indianapolis and later Greenwood, Indiana. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Indianapolis and a master's in Elementary Education from Indiana University–Indianapolis. A gifted educator, Bernice taught for many years at Southport Elementary School, earning recognition as both Southport's and Perry Township's Teacher of the Year.
After 43 years of marriage, Dennis passed away in 2010. Bernice later moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to be closer to her family, especially her beloved grandsons, never missing a game or theatre performance. At St. Matthew Catholic Church, where she was a parishioner, she found renewed companionship and joy, marrying George Callahan in 2015. They shared three loving years until his passing in 2018.
Bernice is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Leslie and Robert Tesch, and her grandsons, Adam, Evan, and Owen Tesch of Charlotte, NC; her son, Todd Jakel of Chicago, IL; her brothers Dallas (Sue), Gary (Debra), and Keith (Joyce); her sister, Penny Stadele; and many cherished nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sisters Arlene, Terry, and Marge, and her brothers John, Harold, and Leland.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church in Greenwood, Indiana. Entombment of ashes will follow at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
In her memory, donations may be made to two organizations that were close to Bernice's heart and played a vital role in the health and well-being of her family: St. Elizabeth Coleman Pregnancy & Adoption Services, and the Riley Children's Foundation, directed toward congenital heart research.