Bernice A. Vasquez

Bernice A. Vasquez - age 86 Bernice was an only child of Barney & Victoria Parrott and was born in Mulberry, Florida on December 23, 1921. Bernice was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a great great grandmother, a Tia Bernice to many, and a friend to many. Bernice was preceded in death by her husband John L. Vasquez, and son, James (Jimmy) Carl Vasquez. She is survived by her dear little dog, Tina Marie, daughter, Loretta Hudson and son-in law, James (Bud) Hudson. Nine grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren, ten great great grandchildren, many cousins and friends. Some of her great-grandchildren are her pallbearers today. Bernice lived most of her life in her home in West Tampa where she raised her son, Jimmy, and daughter, Loretta. She always loved animals of all kinds and in her later years, the love of her life was her dog, Tina. Tina was a gift to Bernice from her granddaughter, Darlene, because her previous dog had died and Darlene knew how much Bernice loved dogs. Tina was Bernice�s greatest joy and comfort. Tina was always on Bernice�s lap when she was in her wheelchair and when Bernice was in bed, Tina, was there too. Another enjoyment that Bernice had was plants and flowers. She loved working in her yard and finding plants and flowers she had not seen before. She was an expert on plants and flowers and truly had a green thumb. Before and after Bernice�s husband, John, passed away they enjoyed traveling with family members to many places, including Mexico, the mountains, all over the United States, Europe, Ireland and on cruises which she loved. Bernice drove to college campuses many times to visit her grandchildren and spend time with them. One time she took a month long trip with family members to Washington State to visit her son. She was so excited because she was always ready to go anywhere any time and she had a great desire to see her son. Well, the first thing she wanted to see was Elvis Presley�s mansion and she talked about that for years. They were gone a month and she got to see her son, Jimmy, in Washington State and that was the highlight of the trip for Bernice. Bernice and her husband John were always interested in antiques and they spent their life at garage sales, auctions, and flea markets. Bernice loved collecting everything and was very proud of her collections and enjoyed looking at them. Bernice loved her whole family. She especially loved her grandchildren and appreciated all the love, help and assistance they all afforded her. Bernice truly was blessed with a long life and many people that loved her and did many acts of kindness for her and she was so happy about that. Spiritually, Bernice, knew Christ as her Savior. She kept her bible beside her chair in the living room and read it. She never joined any particular church or had a church home but she did have a favorite pastor. That pastor was Billy Graham. She listened to him every Sunday morning on the radio and would call and remind everyone when she knew Billy Graham was on TV with a crusade. Billy Graham was her pastor for sure. She also enjoyed listening to Dr. Charles Stanley in Atlanta. On a trip with family members they all stopped and attended Dr. Stanley�s church in Atlanta one Sunday morning and she loved it. Her favorite gospel singing group was the Gaithers. She would watch them on TV all the time. One Mother�s Day, family members purchased tickets to take her to see the Gaithers when they were in concert in Lakeland, Florida. She was so proud of the pictures she had made with herself and the members of the Gaithers. Bernice�s body will be placed beside her husband and her mother but she lives today in heaven with Jesus Christ. Sermon from Pastor Jim Brady.