Jacquelene Y. "Jackie" Bernhart

Heaven gained the most beautiful angel when Jackie Bernhart passed away on Friday, August, 23rd, at the well-lived age of 93. Jackie passed away in the home she loved, surrounded by those who loved her, in the town she loved most, McDonald.
A coal miner's daughter, she was born in Cecil on March 3, 1931 – one of six daughters to the late George and Anna Winter Deliere. While their small, white house may have been crowded, it was never lacking in love, which Jackie reminisced about often – mostly in her final months. She was close to her five sisters (Georgetta, Eleanor, Audrey, Leona and Anna Mae), and her uncles, who were taken in by her father and raised like her brothers after Jackie's grandparents passed. Among those uncles was the late Tanny Deliere, who was killed while serving on the frontlines of World War II in 1945, when Jackie was just 13.
Jackie graduated from Cecil Township High School in 1949, where she was named Prom Queen by her peers.
It was at a dance in her early 20s where she would meet the love of her life, her husband, Bill. Following a whirlwind, three-month courtship, Jackie and Bill married in June of 1954 – residing early on in Johnstown before settling in Bill's hometown of McDonald, where they raised their two children: the late Doria Bernhart Gregg, and Billy Bernhart.
Avid travelers, Jackie and Bill enjoyed trips to Italy, Mexico and the Caribbean – once even flying to Russia for a long weekend, "because they found a good deal." Together they went on dozens of cruises, despite Jackie being unable to swim and terrified of water – and insisting to her granddaughter that one "could drown in the bathtub in just two inches of water."
Jackie was a committed homemaker, and shined brightest when she was cooking up a storm in her famous blue kitchen, hosting those whom she loved. She was a mega fan of the Food Network and enjoyed calling on her granddaughter to Google recipes that she'd seen on TV, requesting that they be dictated to her step-by-step over the phone- sometimes multiple times in a row – while she took copious notes.
For several years in the 70s, Jackie and Bill owned the former Wonder Bar Restaurant in Connellsville. During her restauranteur era, Jackie commuted two and a half hours roundtrip daily to run the establishment and serve up such retro specialties as fresh calves liver with bacon and/or onions, which rang in at just $4.95 at the time.
For decades, Jackie watched every single Pirates game, and the Steelers, too. A Wheel of Fortune junkie, she looked forward to judging Vanna White's dresses each night.
Well known for her immaculately clean and decorated house, Jackie had a special interest in keeping her baseboards sparkling clean. With her signature dark permed hair and coral Revlon lipstick, she was always dressed to the nines, even insisting in her final days that if the weather were too hot during her funeral, then she wanted to be layed out in her lighter-weight pink blazer, because her thicker pink blazer "would look too out of season to guests".
Dedicated to her Catholic faith, Jackie was a longtime member of the former St. Alphonsus Parish in McDonald.
In addition to her parents, Jackie was predeceased by her daughter, Doria, in 2009, her husband, Bill, in 2014, and her five beloved sisters: Georgetta Monaco, Eleanor Mitchell, Leona O'Hare, Audrey Cimarolli and Anna Mae Kubiak.
She is survived by her son, Bill Bernhart of Scott Township; her granddaughter and best friend in the whole world, Becca Gregg Sansom, grandson-in-law, Charlie Sansom, whom she loved as a son, both of Elizabethtown, PA; and her three granddogs: Pippa, whom she had a very special relationship with; Fozzie Bear, whom she insisted on calling Fonzie because even after 4 years, she couldn't get his name right; and Marley, whom she affectionately referred to as "Blondie."
In addition, Jackie is survived by her close friend and sister-in-law, Carol Bernhart; sister-in-law Linda Bernhart; and many, many nieces and nephews.
Jackie was deeply loved, and will be missed forever.
Her family would like to especially thank the dedicated caregivers who loved her and cared for her during her final two years.
Family and Friends will be received on Monday, August 26, 2024 from 6-8 p.m. at Thomas-Little Funeral Service, inc., 314 W. Lincoln Ave., McDonald (724-926-2800). A second visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. in the funeral home. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 10 a.m. at St. Isidore the Farmer Parish – St. Alphonsus Church, McDonald. Interment will follow at Robinson Run Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude's.